Of Bare Feet and Blibbering Humdingers
by A Million Ways
Summary: Non-epilogue compliant. Four years after the war ends, Ron quits the aurors and moves back in with his parents. Luna has returned from her world travels, older, wiser and now her owl has low self-esteem. Oh, and Harry finds the whole thing hilarious. A Ron/Luna fic because it's weirdly perfect.
1. Prologue (Why not Ron and Hermione?)

Prologue

Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley lasted exactly 1 year and 6 months from the date they kissed. Years later, Ron's sister would ask him if he regretted it. Not a single moment. Even with all the messiness and the fighting and making up and incompatibility and attempts to make it work, He was curiously content that he never had to wonder what might have been.

At the start, it was good. Sure, they bickered and argued, and when Harry wasn't around to yell at them to knock it off, they'd escalate to the point of absurdity. But the good moments (the moments they could channel all those emotions into passion) more than made up for it. They were still distracted, Hermione and Ron. That first summer was a blur of memorials, testimonies, news conferences, and of course the trip to Australia to track down her parents.

Hogwarts was where the pair discovered that they wanted to be together, and their London flat was ultimately where they discovered they shouldn't. But that trip to Australia was when Hermione and Ron discovered what they _could_ be together. Harry was there, of course, and Ginny, in their own _silencio_ -ed room on the other side of the tent, playing wizards chess to all hours of the night (or so Ron told himself). In their own tidy room, Hermione and Ron re-discovered each other. Not the childish, bantering people they'd been before 7th year, but the older, wiser people they'd become; irrevocably scarred emotionally and physically. He learned that when she had nightmares, she twitched and whimpered, but rarely flailed or yelled out. She learned that for weeks and weeks Ron couldn't even say Fred's name without needing to retreat somewhere quiet. And they both learned that they needed to be within each others' sight at all times or panic would overtake them. Of course, they also discovered the very compatible physical portion of their relationship. As they learned about each other's bodies and quirks, they became closer than they'd ever been.

They also learned what to ignore. She ignored when he left his towel on the floor, and he ignored her constant prattling on about history or theory or whatever.

By the time the group had restored her parents memories and returned home, Hermione was entering her final year of Hogwarts, and Ron was moving into a Grimmauld Place with Harry, ready to begin auror training. During that year, they craved one another's company, meeting in Hogsmeade on the weekends, and shuttering themselves in Grimmauld for school breaks.

* * *

After Hermione graduated, she and Ron moved into a London flat together, and Ginny moved into Grimmauld with Harry (yes, Molly sent Howlers). Hermione and Ron could floo into the ministry together each morning, and floo home together at night when Ron wasn't on assignment. And within months of living in the same flat, they learned that they _shouldn't_ be together.

By August, all those things they'd chosen to ignore about one another started coming to a head. She'd be annoyed when he left dishes on the counter and he'd ask her to shush the incessant lecturing when the Cannons were on the wireless. Her hours at the Ministry increased, and Ron found himself taking on longer and more dangerous missions. They bickered about the time they didn't spend together, her constant studying, his trips to Quidditch matches...

When Ron was 19, he realized, deep down, that they were not compatible. They were brought together by shared trauma and war survival, but their codependency was keeping them both stagnant. So when Harry and Ginny got engaged in early September, Ron and Hermione ignored the obvious pressure from their families to do the same. The longer they refused to discuss it, the more distant they became. They saw each other for only a few moments in the morning and evening, and even then they bickered. On October 1st, as Ron struggled with his occlumency studies, Hermione began lecturing him on the importance and history of the practice for the 100th time. And that was the moment they broke.

"Bloody hell, Hermione! Maybe we could have a single conversation where you don't make me feel so damn inadequate!" And he'd stormed out to the pub.

That was the nail in the coffin in the relationship. Ron often supposed they could have muddled on, as people do, pretending they were fine as things crumbled. But he was done with waiting and hoping for contentment and so was she.

On October 2nd, 1999 (a date burned permanently into Ron's mind), Hermione packed up her belongings and moved out. Because her annoying ability to be good at everything played on every insecurity Ron had. Because if he asked her to tone it down, he was asking her to give up who she was. Ron didn't chase after her. Because he wasn't going to be the person to snuff out her spirit. She kissed his cheek and told him she loved him, and that was that.

They kept their breakup quiet and out of the papers, and over time they rebuilt something resembling a friendship; not as close as they'd once been, but the grudging acceptance that they couldn't be lovers, but they could manage a careful friendship. Of course there was no choice. At least once a month Ron, Hermione and Harry were called for a media appearance, statement or interview. So as time went on, Ron and Hermione rebuilt a semblance of what was lost and returned to bickering and arguing. Harry returned to his role as peacemaker, and all was well for the three (well, four, 'cause Ginny was always there, too).

When pressed, Ron would tell people the truth. "We were young. We were forced into traumatic situations together. And we were, simply, incompatible." What he left out was that the lie of shared grief, trauma and friendship could not maintain a long-term relationship. They loved each other, yes. They always would. But love alone was not enough to cut through who they were and who they needed to be.


	2. Sundays at the Burrow

**August 2002**

Sundays at the Burrow were nothing but chaos. In the four years since Fred died, the Weasleys had developed a "new normal" that involved six Weasley children-turned-adults, four Weasley spouses, two Weasley grandchildren, one Teddy, one Andromeda, one Hermione (who kept her "honorary Weasley" title even after the breakup) and of course, Arthur and Molly. And every Sunday, as many of those people as possible would pack into the garden, kitchen and Quidditch pitch to celebrate family dinner. In the summer there were Quidditch matches and swimming, and in the winter there were snowball fights and sledding.

There were too many schedules to expect everyone to be there on the exact same Sundays. But a few times a year it happened. And it was on one such Sunday in early August that Ronald Weasley's life turned on its head.

Charlie was visiting from Romania, and Ginny was home from the World Cup. Even Hermione stepped out of the office for the afternoon, an oddity in the face of the werewolf trials coming up. And when Ginny and Harry apparated to the gate of the Burrow, three familiar faces appeared within seconds. Neville, Hannah, and Luna had come to visit as well, and were warmly welcomed by all.

Soon, Charlie and Ron took their butterbeers and sat on the stone wall of the garden, watching the chaos around them. Neville and Hannah, recently engaged, chatted happily with Ginny and Harry about wedding venues and ministers. Percy and Audrey were showing off their little girl to Grandpa Weasley while Victoire hovered at Audrey's elbow. Bill and Fleur were inside, helping Molly with dinner, while George and Angelina chatted with Hermione about new products for the store.

Ron jumped as a dreamy voice interrupted his thoughts. "I'm not surprised about Neville and Hannah. Not like I was about Ginny and Harry."

Luna sat down comfortably on Ron's left, her bare feet swinging against the wall and her blonde hair waving gently in the breeze. Luna had gone back to school with Hermione for that last year, and King's Cross was the last time Ron had seen her. He'd heard stories and rumors about what she'd been up to; the most credible were from Ginny. According to her, Luna had been travelling the world in search of the made-up animals she and her father were so fond of, while running the Quibbler from afar. In the madness of the past few years, Ron had hardly given her a second thought, so her sudden presence was startling.

"You were surprised about Harry and Ginny?" he managed to choke out. "Ginny's been planning that since she was ten."

Luna gave a vague laugh. "Our minds and hearts don't always know what's best. Harry likes to save people. Ginny doesn't like to be saved. I knew they'd date, but I never expected them to get married. But I suppose that's why they work together."

Unsure of what to say, Ron gave a noncommittal grunt and returned to his beer. Charlie stood to go help Arthur set up the marquee, and the two were left balanced on the stone wall. Luna's feet continued to kick against the whitewashed rocks.

"Your wrackspurts are gone," she said, matter-of-factly.

"Well, I suppose that's one thing going for me," Ron responded, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes.

"I'm very sorry." Her voice was quieter. "I heard about you and Hermione...but I didn't believe it until today. You always had wrackspurts when she was around, but now you don't."

"Did she? Have them, too?" asked Ron without thinking. He flushed a bit when he realized what he was asking.

"Oh yes, but she seemed remarkably unaffected by them. Few people can focus through a wrackspurt infestation the way she can." Luna glanced over to where Hermione was drawing a diagram for George. "Oh, hers are gone, too. She must have a much easier time with paperwork nowadays."

 _Yes, paperwork_ , thought Ron wryly. _That's the concern_. He was torn among feeling relieved that Hermione was doing OK, now-rare grief that their relationship was over, and confusion. Because he was taking Loony Lovegood seriously.

"How's your dad?" Ron asked, avoiding the thick silence. Luna seemed unperturbed.

"Doing well. We moved the Quibbler offices to Diagon Alley. I suppose you've read his recent articles about the snorkack. You know what they say..."

"Yeah..." said Ron, avoiding the fact that he hadn't read a word of the Quibbler since the war.

"Oh! Was that a gnome?" Luna changed the topic. "I have so many questions for him!" and away she hopped, leaving a very bewildered Ron Weasley in her wake.

All through dinner, Ron kept feeling his attention pulled back to Luna. She was the same Loony Lovegood he'd known for most of his life. She sat, as she'd always sat, with her wand tucked behind her ear. She still wore radishes ( _no, dirigible plums_ , he corrected himself) as earrings. She chatted cheerfully with Hannah and Ginny about the rebuilt house where she lived. They'd added Argentinian sand to the mortar to protect against nargles.

But what struck Ron the most was that she _wasn't_ the same Luna. Her eyes, still dreamy, held a certain level of maturity and wisdom. There was a slight dampening of her free-spirited demeanor that he hadn't seen before. He thought back to her Quidditch announcing and chuckled a bit to himself, wondering if she'd offer the same amount of entertainment now. Next to him, Harry looked to him questioningly.

"Just remembering the time Luna announced Quidditch. Good seeing her again, eh?"

Harry looked at him like he'd lost his mind, then went back to discussing interdepartmental relations with Hermione.

Ron was the last of the Weasley children to leave the Burrow that evening. As he prepared to duck out, his mother fingercombed his hair and looked him in the eyes.

"Something's wrong, Ron. Tell me."

He hadn't planned to talk to his parents about this tonight, but he knew he also hadn't been himself. Usually he'd be starting a Quidditch match or game of exploding snap. He'd have Teddy on a broom or tease Percy. But tonight, aside from his conversation with Luna, he'd sat on the garden wall and watched quietly. He had too much on his mind.

The words spilled out. "Mum, I turned in my notice for the aurors. I'm burnt out...done. I-I don't know what's next for me. I have some money saved up, and I'll get a roommate. Look for a job. Maybe in the ministry..."

"You'll stay here." Molly's tone suggested that there was no debate. "When will you move back?"

Ron let out a long sigh. The option had jumped into his mind from time to time, but he'd never given it full consideration. Who wants to move back in with their parents when all their brothers and sister are moved out?

With a sparkle in his eye Arthur interjected, "just think about it, son. Remember, you'll get 3 square meals a day...and we could use the help around here."

Ron observed his parents for a moment. They weren't old per se, but the past few years had taken their toll. Arthur still worked for the ministry, but he came home some days dragging his feet. Molly had developed wrinkles beneath her eyes, her hair grayed significantly after losing Fred. Ron often tried to fix things up around the place when he visited, repairing broken furniture and de-gnoming the garden. Merlin knew they needed the help. Ginny was gone half the year for Quidditch, Charlie only visited sometimes. Bill and Percy were busy with their kids, and George was busy with the shop...

* * *

That night, home in London, Ron heard a tapping at his window. He was surprised to find a strange looking owl holding a piece of green-tinted parchment. While he fed him an owl treat, he read the note.

 _Dear Ronald Weasley,_

 _I would like you to meet Badius, my Oriental Bay Owl. I brought him back with me from Asia where I was looking for a flock of blibbering humdingers with my father, and he gets rather bored back in England (the owl and my father both). Whenever I run into old friends, I make it a point to Owl them regularly so that Badius can get out and stretch his wings. Between you and I, I feel he must have low self-esteem if he is not useful. So please write back so he knows he's still useful although we are no longer travelling._

 _I overheard your conversation with Harry. I'm very glad you enjoyed my Quidditch commentary back at Hogwarts. If you are ever in need of a commentator in the future, I'd love to give it another go. It's a shame the war interrupted Quidditch, don't you think? I'm sorry I was so forward regarding your relationship with Hermione. Ginny says I've been away from civilization for so long that I've forgotten my manners. Harry just laughs._

 _Your mother invited me to Sunday dinner in the future. Perhaps I shall take her up on it sometime? My father has chosen to stay in Portugal for the time being, still seeking out the crumple horned snorkack, so I do wish for company at times._

 _Take care, Ronald!_

 _Fondly,_

 _Luna Lovegood_

With a glance at the odd looking owl in front of him, Ron asked Badius to stay for a moment while he responded. _Can't let the owl get low self-esteem_ , Ron told himself as he jotted off a quick letter letting Luna know he came to dinner most Sundays, and that he was, at some point in the near future, probably moving back to the Burrow.

It wasn't until he was lying in bed that night that Ron realized: he'd made his choice, and the person who had put him over the edge was Luna. He chuckled to himself and clicked his deluminator to plunge the room into darkness.

And Luna...throughout the intervening weeks, Luna had kept a regular stream of letters going his way. He mentioned this once to Harry, and Harry laughed. "Yeah, she and Ginny write almost every day. I think Luna's getting lonely up there in that dotty house of hers."

Ron, ever mindful of Badius's feelings, responded dutifully. On days when the owl was late, or didn't show up at all, he found himself feeling somehow worried or lonely. And odd feeling that he couldn't quite place. He knew he _wasn't_ lonely. Ginny had begun flooing him daily after she heard he quit the aurors, just as she had after he and Hermione broke up. Harry was often with her, and sometimes stepped through to Ron's living room for a game of chess or pint of ale. So he wasn't lonely...

They wrote about her adventures, mostly, and she asked about his auror work. He explained to her his reasons for quitting. She told him of her loneliness now that Xenophilius had met a witch on his adventures. And so Badius (and, at times, Pigwidgeon) made the trip between Ottery St. Catchpole and London on an almost daily basis for several weeks.


	3. Bare Feet

**October 2002**

It was a Sunday early October when Ron officially moved back into the Burrow. It wasn't guilt or need that brought him back. It was an odd sense of duty mixed with the simple fact that he had no clue what he was doing with his life. The aurors had seemed like a good idea, especially at a point where he had something to prove. But rounding up Death Eaters and dark wizard wannabes eventually became both monotonous and stressful, and he yearned for something else. Something...simpler? But not simpler.

By 22, Ron knew his strengths. He could strategize well. He was an above-average dueller. But he still didn't know how to translate those skills into a career. So when George and Angelina asked him to help out at the shop, he jumped at the chance. _It's temporary_ , he told himself, but it got him out of the house, earning money, and kept him in contact with the rest of the wizarding world.

As he unpacked into his childhood room amongst the dusty Cannons posters, he mused over his new life. This is not where he saw himself, and the prospect of sharing a house with his parents was both comforting and stifling all at once.

"Ronald Weasley," an ethereal voice pulled him from his thoughts and Ron fumbled for his wand.

Luna stood at the door to his room, wearing a gauzy blue skirt with an orange jumper, her long blonde hair shining in the dim light. The butterbeer bottlecap necklace was back, but she stood with confidence and authority. "I heard you were quite a good auror...how is it that I manage to make you jump so easily?"

Ron paused, taking her in. "Well, I'm retired now. And I'm also in my own bedroom, where other people generally don't sneak up on me."

She stared hard at him.

"And there's a squeaky step that usually warns me that people are coming."

She continued staring.

"And my parents are both in the garden." Ron was running out of things to say, and she was just _staring_ at him, as if he were the one who made no sense.

"And I wasn't expecting visitors?" he finished.

"Unexpected visitors are those we need to be most prepared for." Luna responded, gazing around his room. "I've been eating dinner with your parents every Sunday for weeks. Percy and his wife have come every week. And your other siblings come often. Even Hermione and Andromeda. But not Charlie. Or you."

Her direct eye contact unnerved Ron a bit and she stared at him, as if there were an expected response. It wasn't a glare, it wasn't aggressive. It was simply calm expectation.

"Well, like I said in my letters, I had to pack up my old flat and wrap up my auror business. Find a sublettor. And Charlie has his dragons..." Ron felt as if he were taking his O.W.L.s, unsure if his answers were correct.

"I've noticed that you often feel you must justify yourself." Luna paused, casually removing some dust with her wand. "Your mum wanted me to tell you to come down because everyone will be here soon."

And with that, Luna breezed soundlessly down the stairs, Ron on her heels. As they sat through dinner that night, he tried to puzzle out the sense of warm relief he'd felt when Luna stood in his doorway.

* * *

Halloween was one of the few holidays that didn't produce a Weasley party. On this particular Halloween, Ron and George held the shop open until almost nightfall, selling tricks and treats alike. After dinner and a quick change of clothes, Ron flooed over to Harry and Ginny's. Already, Harry and Hermione sat in the living room, Hermione talking earnestly about the logistics of new werewolf legislation. Harry nodded along, looking as if he'd rather be talking Quidditch. Or watching paint dry.

"Where's Ginny?" asked Ron, looking around the room.

"Oh, she's upstairs getting ready. The Leaky OK tonight? Hannah's stuck behind the bar, and Neville doesn't want to leave her," Harry explained.

"Neville meeting us here or there?" Ron wondered. Neville had spent a year with the aurors, but left to take on a herbology apprentiship, so they didn't see him much.

"He's meeting us there. Try not to make a mess of this evening," replied Hermione looking stern. Ron enjoyed testing new products on Neville. Mostly because it drove Hermione and Hannah mad.

"Only if you promise not to read a book or bring up new legislation," said Ron with a grin.

Hermione huffed in reply, but stuffed her book back into her bag.

"Well, I invited Seamus," continued Harry, who partnered with their school chum now that Ron was out of the auror corps.

"And Luna's coming, too," added Ginny, coming down the stairs to hug her brother. "It's too bad Dean's still at muggle University, I know she'd love to see him. It was rough on her when they broke up."

"Broke up?" interrupted Ron, suddenly curious. He hadn't known Dean and Luna had dated.

Hermione responded, exasperated "yes, they dated our last year at Hogwarts. Ron, I'm sure we've talked about this. You need to work on paying attention –"

Just then the fireplace glowed green and Seamus tumbled out, stumbling over the rug. Hugs and handshakes were shared all around.

"So who else is coming?" asked Seamus.

"We're just waiting on Luna. Neville's meeting us there," replied Harry.

Seamus wagged his eyebrows. "Dean said she was pretty good shag, who gets to lay claim to her tonight?"

"Really, Seamus?" Ginny didn't look too amused. "She's my friend, not a piece of meat."

"And she's a Ravenclaw, and you know how Ron is, so Seamus probably gets first dibs," said Harry with a grin. He was promptly slapped on the back of the head by Ginny, and everyone chuckled.

This was the moment the fireplace glowed green again, and Luna floated out.

"Oh, is something funny? I'd love to know!" she said as soon as she saw that everyone (even Hermione) was suppressing a giggle.

"We were just talking about how Ron only hooks up with Hufflepuffs," covered Harry.

"Twice. TWICE." Ron was red-faced.

Luna stared at him questioningly. "I never took you for a person who put so much weight on Hogwarts houses."

"I don't!" muttered Ron, glaring at Harry and Seamus, who continued to guffaw.

"Well, he ran out of Gryffindors..." started Seamus, "since the ones in Ginny's year won't go near him and the ones in the year above are scared of him because of the twins –"

"I'm obligated to say 'you're welcome' from George," interjected Ginny.

"—And he dated 2 of the 3 in our year, and Parvati won't go near him because of Lavender. Then there's the Slytherins. I mean, he'd have a decent shot with Millicent, but Ron's decided to be picky-"

Ron threw a stinging hex his way, but Ginny snatched his wand from his hand. "I'm fully enjoying this. Seamus, please continue."

"Well, and he learned his lesson about Ravenclaws. Not that he had a chance anyway, since Padma has heard all kinds of stories from Parvati. I know Hermione was in Griffyndor, but she taught him pretty quickly that smart girls aren't his thing-"

"I'm sitting right here. Really, Seamus." Hermione looked as if she was going to start hexing next.

"—so that leaves Hufflepuff. But after the great Susan Bones incident of 2001, I'm not sure any of them would have him. Hannah has threatened to hex off his—"

"Buggar, Seamus, you make one bad date sound like I insulted the entire house," Ron shot back.

Seamus reminded him, "well, you did tell Susan you were very impressed that she passed the Healer Exams 'even though she was a Hufflepuff.'"

"It was supposed to be a compliment."

"Ron, 75% of Mediwitches were Hufflepuffs," Hermione interjected.

"I know that NOW."

Ginny, Harry and Seamus's eyes held twinkles of merriment. Luna simply looked confused. "Ronald, I thought Seamus was your friend."

"He is, Luna. It's a joke. He's taking the mickey."

"Okay." She still looked concerned. "So if Ron only dates Hufflepuffs, who does Seamus date?"

"Anything that moves," threw in Ginny.

Luna still had an innocent, slightly muddled look on her face. "And what about Hermione? Who does she date?"

Hermione looked up, unperturbed. "Whoever I please, Luna."

"Ravenclaws," muttered Harry.

She shot him a dirty look. "You haven't even met Bran yet. For good reasons."

"He's an Unspeakable," responded Harry.

"Ravenclaw," said Ginny, pretending to mask it with a sneeze.

"He and I don't even talk about Hogwart's houses. It's quite refreshing," responded Hermione.

"What do you talk about?" asked Ginny.

"Theories of time travel and –"

"Definitely a Ravenclaw," interrupted Seamus. "Can we go yet?"

Everyone shuffled toward the pot of floo powder until Hermione interrupted. "Luna, you're not wearing shoes. You have to wear shoes to a pub." At Hermione's words, Ron looked over to Luna. She was, of course, barefoot.

She stared absentmindedly at her feet, then flicked her wand, conjuring a pair of sandals.

"Ooh, cute shoes!" said Ginny.

"Did you just conjure those silently?!" said Hermione.

"I'd really like to get started on the drinking," said Seamus, already throwing floo powder.

And so the group flooed to the Leaky Cauldron, still teasing one another, and met up with Neville and Hannah. Hermione and Luna sat at the bar with Hannah and Ginny, catching up on Luna's travels and Hogwarts gossip. And Harry, Ron, Neville and Seamus spent the night getting completely plastered on Firewhiskey and muggle vodka. Ron and Seamus (well, mostly Seamus) hit on every witch in the pub, then all four sloppily stumbled to the street, and eventually wandered around Diagon Alley catching up.

Ron had lost track of time. He knew it was the middle of the night. Knew vaguely that they were in Diagon Alley. Kind of knew that what he was wondering was wholly inappropriate.

But he asked anyway. It had been in the back of his mind all evening. He'd never thought of Luna as anything more than Ginny's dotty friend who had an odd affinity for Harry. He'd never thought of her as a _girl_ , let alone a girl who went out with one of his mates from school. So naturally, he had to know.

"So, Dean and Luna?" he asked, but he was so drunk it came out like, "o, Deeeeeeen 'n loooonnn?"

"They dated." Seamus tended to hold his liquor better than Ron or Neville, but he'd had quite a bit more. "And it took them _months_ to finally get down to it!" Seamus laughed loudly and threw an arm around Neville. "Ya heard th'stories, right? Good shag, that one."

"Oi, Seamus," Neville attempted to steer him around a sewer grate, but instead the pair wandered precariously close to the edge of the sidewalk. "D'you have to be so crass?"

Seamus actually _did_ tend to be crass most of the time. It had only gotten worse the longer he was an auror, and he was usually the one to start the dirty jokes and lewd comments while they were on assignment.

"Why, you fancy her or somethin', Ron?" Neville teased. Then he stumbled and pitched off the curb. He tended to return to his younger, more clumsy self when sloshed. He gingerly climbed back onto the pavement.

"She's my sister's friend! Of course not-" Ron's protests were cut off when he nearly followed Neville off the curb.

"Didn't stop your sister from marrying your best mate." Seamus had a point.

Harry was quiet and observant after a few rounds of Firewhiskey. But at this point he piped up, "well, Ron's been owling Luna almost daily since she got back! I was wondering what that was about...he keeps saying something about her owl feeling poorly about himself, but now I wonder..."

"I don't fancy her! I was just wondering what the story was." Ron stumbled again and leaned against the window of Ollivander's.

Seamus leaned heavily on Neville and guestured with his bottle, "Dean and Luna went to Hogsmeade a bunch, Luna lived in the Griffindor dorms for awhile, and it still took Thomas months to close the deal. Don't know what they talked about, don't care. She's barmy."

Neville started puking in the gutter.

Just then, Ginny, Hannah, Luna and Hermione appeared in the alley.

Hannah sighed and took Neville's arm. "Really? You blokes are going to leave me with this?"

"Would you rather be left with these three?" asked Ginny, guesturing to Ron, Seamus and Harry. Harry was leaning on a wall, nearly asleep.

"You lot are getting nothing but pumpkin juice next time you come by." And with a stern look (and giggles from Hermione and Ginny), Hannah began leading Neville back toward her flat above the Leaky. She shouted over her shoulder, "don't let them floo drunk! You heard what happened to Cormac!"

Ginny sighed and slung Harry's arm over her shoulder. "I'll meet you at Grimmauld. Bill hasn't been by to key Luna into the apparition wards, so she'll have to go with Hermione or Ron. Seamus lost his apparation privileges –"

"I told you, I thought you were still out with the Harpies! I didn't know you were there!" Seamus protested loudly.

"So the wanker will also have to side-along with one of you." And Ginny turned on the spot, taking Harry back home.

Luna and Hermione stared at Seamus and Ron. Luna looked mildly curious and a bit amused. She fidgeted with the ends of her hair and stared at Ron. Hermione's expression was somewhere between annoyance and amusement.

Hermione finally spoke, "I'm assuming neither of you can apparate in your state, can you?"

Both boys lowered their eyes and shook their heads.

"So we're stuck side-alonging the two of you. Or we could just leave you in muggle London to experience the full consequences of your actions." A smile twitched at the corner of her mouth.

"Hermione..." Ron whined.

"Oh, you're not my responsibility. In fact, Luna's the one you have to convince. Of course, she could always just apparate you home and let your mum know what you've been up to." Hermione had a wicked grin on her face. She was enjoying this.

Ron stuck his tongue out at her. It was nice to have their friendship back.

Luna stared at him again. "No, I'll bring Ronald with."

"Which means Hermione has to take me," said Seamus, with a waggle of his eyebrows. Ron could feel Hermione's annoyance. It amused him when her plans backfired.

"Fine, but we're going now." Hermione gingerly took Seamus's arm, slapped his hand away from her waist, and diapparated.

"Shall we?" asked Luna. Ron offered her his arm, but instead, she wrapped both her arms around his waist and put her head on his chest. Her hair smelled like citrus and the outdoors. She turned them both on the spot.

When they landed on the steps of Grimmauld place, Ginny was leaning against the wall, fighting off a fit of giggles at Ron's face. He was sure he looked equal parts horrified, confused and, well, inebriated. He quickly stepped back from Luna's embrace.

"You didn't warn him about how Luna side-alongs, did you?" Ginny asked with a mischievous smile.

Hermione returned the grin. "Nope, I figured he deserved the confusion."

Luna gave Ron a shy smile. "I just find it easier to hold on that way. I'm sorry if it confused you, Ronald."

Ginny and Hermione continued to chuckle. Ron was torn between the urge to hex them (was he even sober enough for a stinging hex? Only one way to find out...) and fall down on the couch to sleep. He chose the couch.


	4. December 21st

**December 2002**

November slipped into December and the damp coldness of late autumn fell on the Burrow. Ron floo-ed to Diagon Alley most days to help out at the shop. He soon learned he had a talent for research and development: George would come up with ideas, Ron would make them work, and Angelina would find creative ways to market them. Soon, the couple decided that Ron would be part-owner come New Years. Ron had argued at first. He didn't have the galleons to buy them out of part of the business, and felt as if it were disloyal to Fred's memory to take his place. But George and Angelina insisted that his help was essential. He finally relented just before Christmas.

Ron sat at the kitchen table that night, sipping tea and reading the Prophet. There were still evenings he wasn't used to the burrow being so _quiet_. His parents had already gone to bed. Ron was startled in the silence by an owl tapping at the window.

Badius offered his leg. Luna wrote quite often, but rarely late at night, so Ron unrolled the parchment with a furrowed brow.

 _Ronald,_

 _I was wondering if you'd be willing to come sit with me for a bit. Home is quite loud with emptiness this evening._

 _Luna Lovegood_

Her handwriting was less steady than normal. The quiet emptiness of his own home was sometimes oppressive; he couldn't imagine what Luna was experiencing with her father on the continent. But the request was odd (well, odd even for Luna). She never asked him over and certainly not at night. So he fed Badius a treat and bid him on his way. Then (remembering the Horcrux hunt and their visit to Xenophilius), Ron imagined the front stoop of rook-like house as clearly as possible and turned on the spot.

He appeared on Luna's doorstep with a crack, shook his head a bit (Ron had always hated apparition), and raised the eagle-shaped knocker. From inside, there were rustling sounds and a few crashes. When the door flew open, Luna's wand was in her hand, and her hair was a staticky halo around her head. Ron took in the rest of her. Her eyes were protuberant as usual, but also red-rimmed and framed by dark circles. Her wand hand shook a bit as she held it at the ready. Luna, who was usually unruffled and slightly detached, dropped her wand to the floor and threw her arms around Ron's waist, burying her face in his chest.

Feeling awkward (he'd never been good with female emotions), Ron gingerly patted Luna's back. He glanced around the kitchen, looking for a threat. The colorful cabinets had been destroyed in the war, and were replaced by a set of neutral ones. A few had been painted with various animals and plants, but it was much more normal than Ron anticipated.

Nothing looked out of place or dangerous. "What's the matter? Did something happen?" His auror senses heightened as he searched for something amiss, anything to explain her tears. In his arms, the witch was silent, her slight frame encircled by Ron's arms. He felt her take in a shaky breath and raise her head.

"Oh, I do apologize...I've lost my senses for a moment." She wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands and bent to pick up her wand. "Please do come in, Ronald Weasley. Would you like a cup of tea?" Then she walked toward the stove, as if the previous few moments hadn't happened.

Ron blinked a few times and muttered "barking" under his breath.

She shuffled around the cabinets, preparing tea and biscuits. "Luna," He called to her, still standing just inside the door.

She didn't respond.

"Luna." Ron was more forceful this time. Her back was to him, and she'd stuck her wand through the bun in her hair. She stiffened at the harshness in his tone and spun around.

"Ronald." She mimicked his tone, more intense than he'd seen her. But her lip trembled a moment.

His tone softened, "what's wrong? You can't just send me a cryptic letter then totally lose it and then pretend nothing happened."

She looked at him with mild curiosity. "Whyever not?"

"Because...it's...that's just not what people _do_ , Luna."

"And?"

Ron sat down at the table, forehead in his hands. In time, she handed him his teacup, and he added the milk and sugar. After she'd taken a few sips, Ron broke the silence. "Something's obviously wrong, or you wouldn't have invited me over. You wouldn't have greeted me like that..." He tried to keep his voice calm and sedate.

"It's the 21st," she finally said quietly, staring into her teacup.

"Yeah? And what happens on the 21st? Is it the nargles? Will they come steal your shoes again? People get Loser's Lurgy?" He tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

"No, you can't really predict the nargles." She nibbled on a biscuit thoughtfully. "I thought Ginny would have told you about the 21st."

"Ginny tells things to Hermione and Harry. And you. I'm just her annoying older brother." Ron helped himself to a second biscuit. "So what's up with the 21st?"

Luna's voice was almost inaudible. "That's the day they took me off the train." The tears welled up in her eyes again. "This is the first time...I've never been alone on December 21st." The words began to spill out, almost against Luna's will. "Seventh year, the first year after the war, I was at school, and I couldn't go home for the holidays, but Dean let me sleep in the Gryffindor dorms so I wasn't alone. Then I was travelling with father until he met Celia, so he would sit with me on those days and he'd tell me I was safe. And I thought I'd be OK by myself this year." Luna sighed and took a sip of tea before she continued, looking down at her saucer, "but I'm not."

"Oh, Luna..." Ron found himself fighting the urge to run and embrace her again. In the flurry of flashbacks and nightmares after the battle, he'd always seen Luna as unflappable. Even when they found her in the Malfoys' cellar, she'd shown poise and strength. He'd never considered the ramifications of Luna's kidnapping and imprisonment.

"So Ginny was there?" Ron kicked himself internally...would she really want to talk about this now?

But Luna was unperturbed, "oh yes. I can't imagine why she wouldn't have told you. It must have been quite startling to her."

Ron tried not to think about how he coped with the aftermath of the war and losing Fred. He left Ginny and Harry to help each other grieve and recover, unable to handle their particular brand of brooding and self-blame. Instead he and Hermione stumbled through their trauma and turmoil with hardly a thought for anyone else. He'd overheard snatches of Ginny's 6th year, but he'd never asked.

"What happened?" he finally prodded. "If you want to talk about it..."

"Would you be more comfortable discussing Quidditch? I don't pay much attention, but I'm sure I can find a Prophet in here somewhere..."

"We don't have to talk about what happened if you don't want to." Ron frantically tried to think of another topic to discuss...but the list of what he and Luna had in common was uncomfortably short, and largely focused on the war.

She stared at him, lost in thought. Ron was almost ready to bring up Ginny's Quidditch stats when Luna began talking.

"We were on the express. Me and Ginny and Neville and Seamus. We squished into one of the smaller compartments because it felt safer." Her eyes held their usual faraway look, but they clouded a bit with emotion. "Ginny and Neville fell asleep...the Carrows had them in detention the whole night before. Seamus was talking about how his mum wanted him to come to Canada with her, get away from everything, but he didn't want to leave us alone, and didn't know where Dean was. He felt it was cowardly to run away when his best friend was in danger like that."

Ron nodded. In auror school, he'd developed a great deal of respect for Seamus, despite his rough edges. That bloke would never run away from a righteous fight, and would never leave his friends while they were in danger.

"So we were only about 2 hours away from London," she continued, "when it happened." Luna took a shaky breath and a sip of her tea. "The train ground to a halt and these men got on..."

"Snatchers." Ron said under his breath, mentally filing through all the reports he'd read at the ministry.

Luna kept looking at her cup. "Mmm Hmm. There were four of them. We heard them yelling in the other cars. They crucio'd a few people, and we overheard my name. One of the Slytherins told them where we were..."

"Pansy?"

"Yep." Luna's eyes became less clouded for a second. "I suppose she was scared and thought she was in the right. She was never taught properly, you know. Not like we were."

Ron thought briefly about the Quibbler and what Luna had been taught growing up. He didn't snort, just bobbed his head vaguely.

Luna re-focused herself, almost forcing the words to come in her high pitched, dreamy voice. "Ginny woke up and said she wished we had Harry's invisibility cloak, as it had been useful when she and Harry were sneaking off the year before –"

"Don't need to know about that..." Ron muttered.

"-And Neville locked the door and tried to put up some enchantments, and Seamus tried to hide me under his cloak and shield me. And Ginny was ready to fight. But Ron, I could never let them get hurt for me. They're my friends, and they'd been through so much..."

Ron wished for some firewhiskey. He knew how this story ended, and that the worst part of it was coming.

"So I just walked into the hallway and gave myself up. Ginny tried to fight me and Neville tried to turn himself in instead, and Seamus got a few good hexes on the snatchers. But they took me. And then a few months later you guys rescued me."

Luna had skipped over the important part, Ron knew. He'd been living with Hermione when she was prosecuting Death Eaters and Snatchers. He'd read the reports. Luna was a pureblood. They didn't kill her; they _wouldn't_ have killed her. But there were so many other ways to break a person.

"Did they hurt you, Luna?" His voice was thick.

She paused and looked at him, as if determining whether to trust him. She met his eyes without fear. "Yes. "

Ron's jaw tightened and he gripped his wand.

"Not like... _that_..." she said quickly, seeing his anger. "But they groped me and cruicio'd me and threatened..."

Her eyes became watery again and she shook her head before looking up at Ron. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For rescuing us. For coming. For taking us to Bill and Fleur's."

"Luna, we never would have left you there. Not in a million years. You or Dean or Mr. Ollivander or Griphook..."

"I know. I just wish I were as brave as you three."

Her words swung in the air as Ron decided how to respond. He finally cleared his throat and grabbed Luna's hand tightly, looking in her eyes.

"Listen to me, Luna. In the past few years I've seen a lot of cowardice and a lot of bravery. And you, Luna Lovegood, are one of the bravest people I know. You survived 3 months in a school run by sociopaths. You gave yourself up to keep your friends and your father safe. You survived another 3 months of torture. And, when we needed you, you came back and fought with us anyway. You could have stayed at Shell Cottage. No one would have blamed you or judged you. But you didn't."

She smiled a little. "But here I am, 5 years after I was snatched, 4 years after the war...and I can't even spend an evening alone just because of the date on the calendar."

Ron looked at her evenly. "March 15th."

"The day we went to Shell Cottage?"

"Yes. Every year on March 15th, even after Hermione and I broke up, the 3 of us and Ginny have a sleepover. We get drunk on firewhiskey and talk about everything except that day. You wanna know what Harry and I did the year you girls were still at school?"

"What?"

"We got knock-down drunk at our flat, floo-ed over to Neville's, got _him_ smashed, and then went to Hogsmeade. I'm amazed none of us lost an arm in the floo. Ginny and Hermione found us passed out behind the shrieking shack the next morning."

Luna got quiet. "Dean and I stayed up that night, too. We snuck down to the memorial and stayed up all night talking. March never held the same weight as December, but that first year it was so important."

They settled into a more comfortable silence at that point, each finishing their tea.

Luna was the first to speak. "Do you ever wish you could have that chance in May? I always felt badly they had you at all the speeches and memorials. You never get a chance to just grieve on May 2nd."

The thought had occurred to Ron, of course. That he would like a chance to mourn his losses privately on that day. But retreating from the spotlight would mean leaving Harry alone, and that wasn't an option. "Price of fame, I guess." He paused, nibbling on another biscuit. "But I guess my point is that there's nothing wrong with it. Not wanting to be alone. I think everyone has those moments."

"I think you're better at hiding them than most, Ronald."

"I've been told I have the emotional range of a teaspoon."

Luna let out a halfhearted laugh. "I think your emotional range is much larger than a teaspoon. You just don't always know what to do with it. The wrackspurts didn't help, but I can't help but wondering if you had a run-in with a blibbering humdinger at some point in your childhood. They're indigenous to the area, and of course make it difficult to express yourself." She blinked a few times, waiting for a response.

 _And we're back to barmy_ , Ron thought to himself.

"Why did you owl me tonight, Luna? Why not Ginny? Or Neville? Or Dean?"

Luna blinked. "You didn't want to be owled? Would you prefer that I floo-ed next time? I used to floo Ginny all the time, but one time I interrupted her and Harry-"

"Again, don't need to know."

"-so now I owl people."

"I'm fine with the owl, Luna...I was just wondering why you chose me out of all your friends."

She considered the question for a second. "I didn't really choose, you're just who I owled."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"Okay." Luna stood up and cleared away the tea service. "You still don't give yourself enough credit. You're a very good friend."

"Thank you." He glanced at his watch, "uh, it's getting late, will you be okay here by yourself?"

She bit her lip and shook her head. "No, but I understand that you can't stay."

He thought for a moment. "Luna, I know you've seen a messenger patronus, but have you ever seen how to send one? They taught us in auror training."

"No..."

"Ok, watch this." Ron thought about Sunday dinners and his mum's cooking; the comfort of his family together, as whole as they could possibly be.

"Expecto Patronum!" Instead of running off, his Jack Russell sat waiting at his feet when Ron flicked his wand. "Mum, I'm going to sleep on Luna's couch. She's having a rough day." Another flick of his wand, and the terrier formed a ball of light, suspended in the air. "Molly Weasley, The Burrow." Ron commanded, and with another flick, the ball of light bounced through the wall.

Luna's eyes were larger than normal. "That seems much more efficient than an owl. Why don't more people use it?"

"It took me weeks to get it right. Hermione figured it out in one night. But it takes a lot of concentration, even more so than the normal patronus. McGonagall can do it without all the in-between steps, but I'm not that good."

"Could you teach me?"

And so Ron spent several hours teaching Luna to use her messenger patronus. By 2am, she could get her hare to wait patiently for a message rather than dash around the room in a flurry of silvery light. After Luna went to bed, Ron drifted off to sleep on the blinding pink couch. As his eyes closed, he briefly wondered if Luna had re-painted the "friends" mural he'd seen while asking about the Hallows...

* * *

Just before dawn the next morning, Ron returned to The Burrow for a few hours more sleep. He was awakened around noon to Badius tapping at the window.

The note simply read " _Thank You."_

Ron gave the parchment a smile and handed Badius an owl treat before dressing for Sunday dinner. This week was a small gathering; only Ginny and Percy and their families were attending. Everyone else was just coming on Christmas day.

And, of course, Luna. It wasn't until she apparated onto the garden path that Ron realized the shift in their relationship. For the past few months, they'd had a burgeoning friendship based on letters and Sunday dinners, but after the previous night he was seeing her in a new way. She wasn't just the odd, dotty girl he'd known for much of his life. She had a certain level of depth and strength that he hadn't considered before, and he realized that he looked forward to her company.

A vision of her laughing in the firelight as they chased their patronuses around the circular living room danced through Ron's head.

As soon as her soft "pop" was heard in the garden, Ginny dashed down the path, nearly knocking the slender witch over with a hug.

"Luna! I forgot what day it was yesterday, and by the time I remembered, Futterwacken had already taken some post up to Neville, and we were out of floo powder, and I feel like a terrible friend!" Ginny had thrown her arms around Luna in apology.

"Futterwacken?" Ron muttered to Harry from where they stood on the porch.

"I got her an owl. The name's from some muggle book." Harry looked amused in spite of himself.

"Harry, do us all a favor, mate. When you have kids, don't let my sister name them."

"Noted."

"-So Ronald came over and sat with me, and he's teaching me to make a messenger patronus," said Luna as Molly ushered the girls inside.

Harry raised an eyebrow in Ron's direction as the witches closed the door. "Sat with her all night? Your mom did mention that you had a bit of a lie-in today..." Harry had a bit of a grin in the corner of his mouth.

"She owled me some nonsense, so I went over to make sure she was OK. Yesterday was the date she was taken off the train."

"Ah. That's her March 15th?"

"Something like that." Ron looked down and cleared his throat. He and Harry rarely discussed this type of thing without the girls around to make them. They stood, hands in pockets, for some time each lost in their own thoughts. Eventually they grew chilled in spite of the late afternoon sun and went to join the rest of the family.

Even though today's crowd was smaller than usual, the kitchen at the Burrow was cramped. For once, however, Ron didn't mind. Luna confidently sandwiched herself between him and Ginny, chattering comfortably with the rest of the family. Ron was struck by how seamlessly she had settled into the group, as if she'd belonged there all along.


	5. Christmas

**Christmas 2002**

Christmas Eve was another tradition at the Burrow. All of the Weasley children, their spouses and children, and sometimes even Hermione, Andromeda and Teddy all gathered for dinner. Afterward, they'd all put on their pajamas and sing carols and drink chocolate around the fire. Everyone would retire to their childhood bedrooms, and in the morning there was a great flurry of tearing into gifts, yelling, screaming and laughing.

On Christmas Eve morning, Ron was not-so-patiently helping Molly prepare the dinner. His attempts to sample morsels of food were met with hand slaps and stern looks. He was folding napkins and right on the edge of bickering when a silvery hare burst into the room.

"Ron!" called Luna's voice from the patronus, "I've figured it out!" And the hare dissolved into a mist.

Ron had, of course, explained to his mum what happened at Luna's, and why she'd been so upset.

"I'm proud of you for being such a good friend to her. I know she's a bit odd," Molly said casually as she basted the ham.

"I reckon she's really not that bad," replied Ron, trying to steal a bite.

"She's probably lonely up there in that strange house, what with Xenophilius off in Argentina-"

"Portugal," corrected Ron.

"Yes, Portugal...I invited her for tonight, I figured she's as good as family at this point. She can stay for dinner and sleep with Ginny in her room, and Harry can bunk with you."

"Mum, Ginny's been married for 2 years. Harry can stay in her room with her."

"Well, Charlie's home, so there's nowhere for Luna to sleep then."

"I'll take the sofa, it's fine. She can have my room." Ron tried to ignore the excitement he felt at knowing Luna was coming for Christmas.

Molly rubbed his head affectionately. "That's very chivalrous of you, Ron. But I'm sure Ginny won't mind..."

"MUM, let it go," Ron said, then conjured up his patronus and told it, "It worked! See you this evening!" And with a few flicks of his wand, his terrier sped off toward "Luna Lovegood, The Rookery."

* * *

Luna glided into the house that night, on the heels of Ginny and Harry. "Molly, I want to thank you for kindly inviting me tonight. It's much more pleasant than sitting alone."

"Any time, Luna. You're always welcome here," Molly replied.

Throughout dinner and carols, Ron noticed a warm, pleasant feeling as he looked around the room. His entire family was together. Fleur and Angelina had both announced they were expecting, causing a cascade of shrieks and squeals from the women present. Little Teddy curled up in Luna's lap (Luna was his new favorite person), turning his hair into long blonde tendrils and asking her a million questions about her travels.

Eventually Andromeda collected him and apparated them both home, and Hermione flooed back to her parents, leaving the Weasley siblings, their families, and Luna. One by one they went to their rooms, leaving only Ron and Luna talking by the fire.

"I can sleep down here, Ronald. It's not an issue. You deserve your own room on Christmas Eve."

"I wouldn't be a very good Gryffindor if I let you sleep on the sofa, now would I?" Ron asked with a grin. "And besides, my mum is expecting you to stay upstairs, so that's where your presents will be."

Luna gave a tinkly chuckle. "There is no need for presents. Just spending time with such a happy family is enough for me." She settled next to him on the couch and joined him in looking at the fire.

The quiet of the house was interrupted only by a few cries from Victoire and Baby Molly as the family settled into bed.

Luna finally broke the stillness. "What are you thinking about?"

"Fred," Ron replied, still staring at the flames. "How he and George would sneak into my room before I woke up on Christmas and hide my gifts." A smile danced at the corner of his mouth.

"He was always very kind to me. Which was odd, because he wasn't always kind to everyone else, and not many people were kind to me..." Luna trailed off.

"He must have reckoned you needed a friend more than a prank."

Ron quieted again, thinking of his brother until Luna broke the silence. "I always think of my mother on Christmas Eve. Growing up she often told me that the veil was thin on nights such as this, and we'd light luminarias to welcome kind spirits to our home. She met a man in Spain once who told her he could feel the spirits of his loved ones twice a year: on Christmas Eve, welcomed by lantern light, and at the Summer Solstice, welcomed by the last dregs of the longest sun."

"You were nine when she died, right?"

"Mmm Hmm. The first few years I lit the luminarias in her absence, hoping she'd come walking up the path to greet me. When I was 11, I stayed up all night on the porch, waiting. But she never came."

"What made you stop?"

Luna shrugged at this. "Age? Maturity? I know now that the veil is final, but I'll see her again when I pass through. I'd rather have her there than have her spirit stuck here as a ghost or something."

Ron felt tears prick the corners of his eyes. "Just after Fred died, I wished he'd become a ghost...just so I could see him and talk to him again. I missed out on that whole last year..."

"He wouldn't have wanted you to do anything different. In fact, I'd wager he'd think of it as the ultimate prank: stealing pieces of Voldemort's soul while his back was turned."

"I still feel selfish sometimes. For leaving. For wanting him back."

She turned to Ron. "You're not selfish, just human."

"Tell me more about your mum," Ron changed the subject, chasing away his grief.

Luna brightened a bit and began, "well, she was a Ravenclaw like daddy. He always said that they knew things completely differently. He started with what might be, then looked for the evidence. She started with the evidence, and looked for what might be. She thought he was barking mad when they first met." She looked to Ron again with a grin.

"She was an Unspeakable until she had me. Then she did freelance work as a spell producer. According to some, she developed more charms in those nine years than many producers do in a lifetime." There was pride in Luna's voice as she spoke. "Even before I had my wand, she made sure I knew the basics of why magic works and how."

"So how did she and your dad end up together? If she thought he was mad?" Ron asked.

Luna snuck another glance at him.

"Well, I suppose he grew on her in time. He taught her that just because you can't prove something exists doesn't mean you have proof of its nonexistence. It just means you don't know. She taught him that sometimes people have to be brought back to the evidence..." Luna trailed off dreamily.

"What were they like together?"

"Oh, they doted on one another. He worshiped the ground she walked on, and she lived to make him happy. I suppose I idealize them, as I was quite young when she died. But he always said that if it hadn't been for me, he would have passed on, too."

They returned to gazing into the fire in the comfortable peace. Ron startled when Luna leaned her head on his shoulder and tucked her legs under her. "Thank you for asking, Ronald."

The fire died down to embers as the pair sat, lost in thought. Ron noticed Luna's breathing become slow and even, and looked down to find her asleep on his shoulder, her blonde braid slung over her shoulder. He surprised himself by bending down to kiss her on the top of her head before grabbing a cushion to put behind his neck as he drifted off.

* * *

It was still dark when Ron was awakened by a strange sound. He blinked a few times in the semi-darkness before he recognized what it was: the whistle of the kettle in the kitchen. As the world came into focus, Ginny was leaning in the doorway, staring at him and Luna with an amused grin on her face.

Ron was at a loss for words.

Within moments, Harry joined her in the doorway, handing her a cup of tea and putting his free arm around her.

"Morning, Ron!" he greeted him, his voice full of merriment.

"What are you guys doing up?" Ron asked, trying to keep his voice casual. It wasn't as if he and Luna were doing anything wrong or untoward. They'd simply fallen asleep while talking.

"Well, I usually have early practice, so I knew I'd be awake anyway. I told mum I'd be in charge of present distribution. Clearly I don't need to take Luna's up to your room, now do I?" Ginny had a devilish look in her eye.

"Can we just...leave it?" Ron asked weakly, glancing down at the witch still snuggled into his side.

"Nope," replied Ginny, turning to gather some gifts from under the tree. "Don't worry, we'll discuss this situation on a regular basis."

Harry accepted an armload of gifts and gave Ron a grin.

Beside Ron, Luna stirred a bit. "Hmmm...? Oh!" She seemed mildly startled as she woke up. "Well, Happy Christmas, Ginny, Harry!" She paused for a moment to gather herself. "Ron."

"Happy Christmas, Luna! Did you sleep well?" asked Harry cheekily.

"Quite well, thank you for asking," replied Luna.

Ginny and Harry traipsed upstairs with a load of gifts.

Luna whispered to Ron, "shall I go upstairs, or shall I stay down here?"

He blinked at her a few times. "Uh...I suppose just stay here. I mean, Ginny said she'd just leave your gifts down here..." He was unsure of the proper way to act in a situation such as this.

"Oh, okay," replied Luna. "Why don't I get us some tea?" she asked, standing and pulling her housecoat more tightly around her.

"Yes, tea would be nice..."

Ron stoked the fire into flame again, and began sorting more of the presents under the tree. He figured while he was up, he might as well help his sister and Harry. And hopefully distract them from blabbing to the rest of the family.

Eventually the four had the gifts distributed, and began opening their own presents beside the tree, waiting for the others to join them.

On top of Luna's pile was a small gift from Ron, which she saved for last. He found himself watching her from the corner of his eye as she opened her Weasley jumper (a rich lavender with a dark blue "L"), another gauzy skirt from Ginny, and Peruvian darkness powder from George and Angelina ("a good line of defense as you live on your own"). Finally, she glanced shyly at Ron as she looked at the package.

"None of you had to get me anything."

"Just open it!" he replied with a grin. Ron pretended that he couldn't hear Ginny snicker from across the room.

She opened the paper delicately to unveil a book. _"The Symbolism and Mysticism of the Hare,"_ Luna read, "like my patronus?"

"Yes, I asked the clerk at Flourish and Blotts what they had on the topic. See the picture on the front? It's three Hares, but they share their ears in a circle. She said that symbol is found all over the world, but in England it originated in Devon. It's like an illusion or a puzzle, so I thought you'd like that. And she said there's a Lunar Hare...that is some people see a hare in the full moon, so I kind of thought it was fitting..." Ron trailed off, realizing he was babbling.

He glanced at Harry and Ginny, who were holding hands, glancing back and forth between him and Luna, their faces unreadable.

Luna stared at the book quietly. "It's perfect," she finally answered softly. "Thank you, Ronald."

One by one, the remaining Weasleys joined them. First, Victoire dashed down the stairs, yelling about her jumper and moving picture book., followed by a bleary-eyed Fleur and Bill. Then Percy and Audrey carried down Baby Molly for her first Christmas and she gazed in wonder at the blinking fairy lights. Soon Molly and Arthur were awakened by the ruckus, and dragged George, Angelina and Charlie down as well. The whole family finished showing off their gifts and wishing each other Happy Christmas just in time to enjoy Molly's pastries and eggs.

After eating and changing into her Weasley jumper, Luna gave Molly a hug and wished her farewell. "Thank you so much for everything, Molly. I must get home for an international floo with my father, but I will see you soon!"

"You're coming back on Sunday, correct?" Molly responded.

"Unfortunately, some maintenance must be done down at the Quibbler offices while things are slow. Daddy asked me to please supervise, so I will miss this week. I'll be by next week. Happy New Year, Molly."

"We'll miss you, Luna. Ron!" Molly called to her youngest son, "please see Luna home. I don't like her alone in that house, so far from everyone else. Get her settled in, at the least."

Ron nodded and felt a twist in his stomach which he ignored as he trailed Luna into the garden. She turned to him on the path.

"I know you hate apparating. Come along, I'll take you." So Luna wrapped her arms around his middle, her hair tickling his nose. He wrapped his arms around her in turn as his stomach gave another twist just before the crushing sense of apparition took over.

When they landed on the stoop of Luna's house, she held on for a moment longer, pressing her face into Ron's chest and breathing deeply. Ron held her, too, attempting to consider the feelings he was experiencing.

She pulled away and looked in his eyes, the grabbed his hand, interlacing their fingers. "Come upstairs with me, I have something for you." She led him up the winding staircase to her room. At the door, she stopped for a moment, still grasping his hand. "I-I made you a Christmas present, but I wasn't sure...I didn't know if you'd like it, so I didn't bring it..." she took a deep breath and pulled him into her room.

Ron gazed around in wonder. Gone was the lifelike mural he'd seen a few years ago (of course...it had been destroyed in the Erumpet explosion). In its place was a painting that took Ron's breath away. From floor to ceiling, Luna had painted scenes from her worldwide travels, each blending seamlessly into the next. Aztec ruins towered over an African waterfall, and the Alps framed St. Peter's Basilica. Over Luna's bed (decorated, of course, in the blue and bronze of Ravenclaw), was Hogwarts in such lifelike detail that Ron had to refrain from reaching out to touch it.

"Blimey..." Ron heard himself say under his breath as Luna dropped his hand to rummage in the wardrobe.

"What would your mum say, Ronald?" Luna asked with a smirk.

"This is amazing!" Ron finally exclaimed once he found his voice again. "How long has this taken you?"

Luna eyed the walls and ceiling critically. "Well, I began Hogwarts that summer after the war to distract myself, and I've added bits and pieces between trips. I've done most of it since August. I'm still working on a few parts."

Luna handed him a large, flat package in bright paper. "This is your gift. Happy Christmas, Ron."

Ron pulled himself away from examining the walls in order to open his present. Beneath the bright paper was a canvas, stretched tight and painted by hand. Against the murky dark blue background, a silver hare and terrier frolicked at play. They looked to be made of mist, but still somehow corporeal, as if they could jump off the canvas.

"Our patronuses?" Ron asked, looking up at Luna.

A smile broke on her face. "Yes, I very much hoped you would like it."

Ron was nearly overcome with the urge to kiss her, right then and there.

But he didn't. He had always been far more comfortable running into battle than with his feelings. The tentative steps he'd made toward understanding Luna hadn't quite made him ready for this moment. He stared at the painting. "It's perfect," he finally whispered, echoing Luna's earlier words, his ears turning pink.

When he glanced over, she was smiling as well.

The silence broke at the chiming of a clock.

"Oh, it's nearly time for my firecall with daddy!" Luna exclaimed. "I'll see you at Ginny's on New Years?" she asked him as she walked him to the door. Ron nodded, not trusting his voice, and took a deep breath as soon as the door fastened behind her.


	6. Ron Tries to Understand Feelings

**December 26, 2002**

Ron was eating breakfast on Boxing Day when there was a loud "pop" just outside the Burrow gate. He'd been trying to untangle his thoughts about Luna all morning. The way she'd looked at him when he dropped her off...the way he'd almost kissed her without thinking...

He felt a rush of adrenaline when he heard a familiar, dreamy voice enter the foyer. "Good morning, Molly. I had just come to ask Ronald if I could borrow Pigwigeon. I sent Badius to London this morning for Ginny, but then I noticed the wrackspurts were behaving strangely and I need to contact my father as soon as possible. I'm sure Pig would love a chance to see Portugal –"

She stopped abruptly when they entered the kitchen, eyes wide. She didn't look at Ron exactly, but rather around him. Her eyes flickered to panic, then recognition.

"I'm...I'm..." she seemed to be at a loss for words. She took a deep breath and met his eyes. "Ronald, could I borrow..."

"Pig?" he finished, "sure...let me...he'd be happy to..." and Ron raced upstairs to avoid her unguarded gaze, and the feeling that he was 15 years old again. He whipped down the stairs a few moments later, Pigwidgeon flapping excitedly behind him. "See? He's excited to go."

"Thank you, Ronald. I'll take him out to the garden with directions." Luna seemed to have gotten control of herself. "I've begun reading my book. Once Badius is back, I'll Owl you about some of the things I've learned."

"Yeah..." Ron felt like the wind got knocked out of him, just standing in the kitchen with her. "I, um, hung your painting. It looks nice, with the Cannons posters..."

 _Babbling again. She thinks you're a tosser_ , Ron thought.

"Well, that's good. I was hoping you'd get good use from it." Luna stood looking at him, the silence awkward.

Molly was looking back and forth between the pair, much as Ginny had on Christmas. She whispered something to Arthur, who had been reading The Prophet and generally ignoring everything around him.

Arthur looked over his glasses at Ron and Luna with a small smile. He cleared his throat. Looked at his wife. Molly nodded at him. "Good to see you Luna, feel free to come by any time."

Molly huffed under her breath and turned back to the dishes.

With Pig perched on her arm, Luna began making her way to the garden. "I have a few lines I need to add to this note, then I'll send him on his way. Thank you, Ron, Molly, Arthur."

A few minutes later there was a "pop" from the garden.

Molly gave Arthur a knowing look and he sighed. "Ron, your mother wants me to have a Talk with you..."

Ron followed his father into the shed, head down against the winter wind. Once they'd shut the door and cast warming charms (since shutting the door did little to keep out the drafts), Ron and Arthur stared at one another awkwardly.

Ron broke the silence. "Didn't we have a Talk a few years ago? And again when I moved in with Hermione? And _again_ when Ginny let loose about the Susan thing? What's mum's obsession?"

"Remember that you're the last one left," Arthur said. "She's hung up on propriety and such lately." He took a deep breath and began figeting with a muggle smoke detector. "And she's worried about Luna's feelings. We know what you kids always said about her, calling her Loony and such-"

"Dad, she _is_ kind of Loony. No denying that."

"But your mum has taken to her, especially since Xeno stayed in Portugal and let her come live alone up there in the hills. And mum wants you to be kind to her, treat her nicely..."

"What gives everyone the idea that something's going on anyway?"

Arthur glanced up from the battery he was inspecting with a grin. "Ronald, you're not subtle. You nearly fell over yourself when she showed up this morning."

"Oh, that..."

"Anyway, mum says no more staying over there all night."

"And?"

"And that's it." Arthur thought for a moment. "Well, she might have said more, but..." he returned to popping batteries in and out of the device, "I was reading the paper..."

The smoke detector beeped a few times as the battery snapped into place.

"Want me to stay out here awhile longer so she thinks you were listening?"

"That would be helpful."

* * *

After the Boxing Day Talk, Ron hoped that the worst of it was over. After all, he was a grown man, and his parents had no business trying to figure out how he felt about Luna, particularly when Ron himself was still puzzling that one out.

Ron almost forgot that he had an obnoxious little sister who happened to be married to his best friend. And the pair loved to taunt him.

Sunday Dinner started out relatively tame. Harry and Ginny were on what they called "Teddy Duty" (every few weeks they gave Andromeda some much-needed time off), so dinner was a flurry of 4-year-old questions and stories, with the addition of Victoire's 3-year-old questions. Percy's daughter, Baby Molly would occasionally interrupt the bigger kids with her babbling and yells, much to the amusement of the adults.

After dinner George and Angelina offered to take all of the kids up to George's old room to work on a surprise for Molly and Arthur. Most of the remaining adults retired to the sitting room. As he went to sit down, however, Ron found himself re-directed toward the stairs by his sister and best friend.

"Sit," commanded Ginny as she shut the door to her bedroom. Ron sat on the bed as Harry didn't even bother to hide his grin.

Harry and Ginny shared a look, then Harry nodded at her. "Ginny wants to talk about Luna," said Harry.

"What about her?"

"She liked you," started Ginny. "Back in my fourth year."

Ron thought back to his fifth year, and a few odd occurrences began to fall into place.

"Yeah?" he finally said in a strangled way.

Ginny crossed her legs on the bed and looked at Ron's face intently. "But she stopped? You want to know why?"

"Why?"

"Because you're a total tosser, Ron. You were such a jerk to her! Harry was at least nice to her-"

"Leave me out of this!"

"-but you and Hermione were terrible! Calling her Loony, poking fun at the Quibbler, laughing behind her back..."

"We were fifteen!"

"Yes, and you haven't grown up a bit since then, have you?"

Harry cleared his throat. "Well, I feel like Ron has grown up a little..." upon seeing Ginny's face he trailed off.

"My brother is a git," Ginny turned back to Ron, "and he needs to figure out what he wants. What's going on with you and Luna? You're in every owl she sends me, you spend the night at her house, and you give each other these super personal Christmas gifts..."

"You forgot the time they slept on the sofa," interjected Harry.

"AND, you sleep together on the sofa."

Ron looked down at his hands. When you put it _that_ way, it did sound...well...suspicious.

"I don't know," he finally said.

"You don't know what?" said Ginny.

"I don't know what's going on, or what I feel."

Harry groaned, "not this again."

"Not what again?" asked Ron.

"Not the 'Ron clearly fancies this girl, but can't figure himself out' thing. Like I have time to watch you stick your thumb up your arse for 2 years. Again."

"Thanks, Harry. Your support always means a lot."

"So you fancy her?" asked Ginny.

"I didn't say that."

Harry and Ginny looked at him expectantly.

"So you don't fancy her?" asked Harry.

"I didn't say that either."

"So you're going to make our lives miserable?" said Harry.

"Probably."

Ginny let out a sound that Ron had only ever heard from Hagrid's Skrewts. Somewhere between a scream and a growl. "This isn't even the real reason I wanted to talk to you, but it makes everything more complicated. Ron, I'm telling you now that I expect you to make a scene on New Years, and I expect it will be mortifying for everyone, and I expect you to tell everyone afterward that I predicted it."

Ron looked at his sister in confusion, then to Harry for an explanation.

"Hermione's bringing Bran. Ginny expects you to make an arse of yourself. Luna will also be there."

"Why would I make an arse of myself?"

Ginny began pacing in agitation. "Because _Hermione_ is bringing a _bloke_ and you have the delicacy of an Erumpet. Because even if you're over her, she's still Hermione, so you'll make a big deal about things. And because his name is Bran and Harry has spent the past month coming up with grain-related puns, which I'm sure you'll encourage."

"I call him Oats."

"And if you fancy Luna, you'll either try to make her jealous or you'll make a fool out of yourself in another way. And Dean will be there, and it's awkward enough that I dated him, but Luna did, too, and—"

"I feel like we should expand our social circle," said Harry.

"—and this is important to me because I just want one nice social gathering where Neville doesn't throw up and no one is angry or awkward."

"But Harry will be there. He's awkward all the time."

"I will have you know that I had lunch with Hermione and Bran, and it was not awkward for even one moment," Harry said quietly.

"Hermione tells the story different," Ginny shot back.

Thankful that the focus was off of him, Ron gingerly tried to make his way toward the door, but his sister grabbed him by the collar.

"Nope, I can argue with Harry any time. You're staying here."

And then, Ginny laid into him about the 'standards of behavior' she expected, and what was and was not appropriate during New Years. Harry gave him a sympathetic look over her shoulder, and Ron began to tune her out.

Figuring out his feelings was hard enough. The addition of Bran ( _Wheat? Rye? The possibilities were endless_ ) and Ginny's protectiveness simply complicated them more.


	7. New Years Eve

**December 31, 2002**

The next three days were a blur for Ron as he continued wrestling with his feelings. He could admit that he looked forward to seeing her at Harry's, and could even admit that he fancied her a bit. But what he was going to _do_ with that? He hadn't the faintest.

And then of course, there was Hermione and Bran. He wasn't jealous (well, he was pretty sure he wasn't jealous), but there was a stone in his stomach when he thought of meeting Bran. It felt like a bit of protectiveness, just as he felt when Ginny dated Michael or Dean. And a bit of uneasiness. What if Bran was a knob? Or worse, what if he wasn't? Ok, maybe there was a bit of jealousy…

When he got off work at half ten on the 31st, he made his way to George's floo with a mix of anticipation and trepidation. And about a hundred more feelings that Ron couldn't place.

 _Damn Humdingers_ , he found himself thinking. The thought surprised him so much that he nearly fell into the fire before yelling out "Grimmauld Place."

Due to Ginny's insistence that the party started at a "respectable" time, Ron was the last to arrive. The four other Gryffindor boys were already gathered around the table, deep in a game of Exploding Snap, Seamus looking mutinous regarding his sober state. _Ginny must have followed through on her plan to hide the harder spirits._

The girls (Luna, Ginny, Hermione and Hannah) could be heard laughing in the sitting room, along with a deeper, slightly-accented voice.

As he shook off the ash, Ron raised his eyebrows to Harry. Harry nodded and mouthed "yep, Welsh."

Seamus was less discrete. He stage-whispered, "I've got a slew of sheep jokes lined up if you'd like them."

"I'll introduce you. And Seamus will stay here," Harry said, with a glare at the Irishman. Neville, Seamus and Dean followed them into the sitting room anyway. Harry and Ginny had worked hard to make Grimmauld habitable. They had deprived the sitting room of its stuffiness by filling it with squashy Gryffindor-inspired sofas and bright colors. Now it was a frequent gathering place for their friends. Laughter alone seemed to chase away the dark magic that used to imbibe the house.

Ron's attention was immediately drawn to Luna. She sat on the red loveseat across from the sofa, her blonde hair shining in the candlelight and bare feet tucked under her. Her blue eyes met Ron's when he entered the room, and his stomach dropped a bit.

"Hi!" he said, mostly in her direction.

Everyone in the room greeted him, but for a moment he really only comprehended that Luna smiled back at him. Some of the confused emotions in his head began clicking into place.

"...and I thought I should introduce you to Bran," finished Harry. Ron struggled to turn his attention back to the rest of the room.

Ron sized up the newcomer.

Bran sat next to Hermione, his arm casually slung across the back of the couch. His curly dark hair was cropped close to his head, and he appeared to be slightly below average height. He wasn't particularly good (or bad) looking, but he somehow had the attention of everyone in the room.

 _Tosser._

Bran finished the story he was telling (something about Herbology and Bowtruckles) and rose slightly from the couch to introduce himself, "hullo, Bran Owens." His handshake was confident but casual. Ron attempted to make his just as assertive.

"Ron Weasley." Ron glanced to Luna. She smiled from her spot on the loveseat, so Ron moved to sit next to her, and was almost immediately cut off by his sister.

She glared at him as she settled in next to Luna. Ron's brow furrowed as he plopped himself in an armchair near the corner. _What's Ginny's problem, anyway?_

He missed the moment when Luna tried to catch his eye.

Hannah explained the conversation, "Bran was just telling us about his Herbology NEWT. Their practicals were much more in depth than ours, since they happened our fourth year." Hannah said. "Ours were much more focused on the written tests, what with Voldemort around and the war and all."

"I didn't know Unspeakables needed Herbology," Luna said.

"I wanted to keep my options open. I assume you did a NEWT in Divination, correct? Probably for similar reasons; I seem to remember rumors that the blonde 3rd year was a Seer."

"Oh, the Sight can't be taught, and I don't have it. I Observe well, and people often mistake Observation for Seeing, but that's because they don't watch well enough themselves. Outside of rumors, I'm not sure why one would think I'd take Divination?" Luna's eyes were wide and questioning.

Bran seemed at a loss for words and cleared his throat, looking to the others in the room. Ron refused to meet his gaze (or Luna's) and felt his ears redden on her behalf. Bran finally asked, "So what did you NEWT in? Not even all Ravenclaws are up for some of the more difficult subjects."

"Oh, this and that…I intended to help Daddy with the Quibbler, so I just studied what I fancied. Mostly Runes and Arithmancy. DADA, Charms, Transifguration. I skipped out on Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology, but that's because Sprout was giving inaccurate information to the class, and I could learn much more from my father about creatures. Oh! And Muggle Studies, since Daddy is usually sure that most of their Airline Pilots and TV Repairmen are actually Imperioused by the Magical South American Government."

"So you were a Ravenclaw, too, then?" Ginny asked Bran, trying to change the subject.

After a baffled look at Luna, Bran ignored her and responded to Ginny instead. "Yes…um…I was Ravenclaw. I was surprised when I got to know Hermione that she wasn't sorted there, too."

Luna snuck a glance at Ron who looked away quickly when he saw the confusion in her eyes.

Hermione looked slightly flustered, but encouraged him with a smile, "show them what you've been working on. It's pretty impressive."

"Doesn't Unspeakable mean he literally isn't supposed to speak about what he does?" asked Ron, slightly annoyed.

"Well yes, but—"

"She's talking about the independent research I do. You're right, Ron, I can't talk much about my work for the Ministry. I'm in the Nature of Magic division, which is pretty big. But as an offshoot, I spend my own time researching what I'm interested in. Let me demonstrate."

Bran pulled his wand from his cloak and handed it to Hermione. "She's going to hold this so that you guys know there's no trickery." He sat back a bit and put his hands on his knees

"I think everyone here has taken at least one Wand-based, NEWT-level class, right?"

There were nods all around.

"So you know that silent casting is difficult. Most Wizards and Witches only manage it for charms, defense and hexes, and even then only the easy ones they use most commonly. Accio, Protego and the like. Some of the more powerful Witches and Wizards can do some transfiguration. A few, like Dumbledore or McGonagall can even conjure things without speaking. But usually that takes a great amount of skill, and they're still limited in what they can do."

"Like Dumbledore could conjure chairs, but only a specific type, right?" asked Harry, suddenly interested.

"Exactly. What I _can_ tell you about my unspeakable work is that I research wands. And that got me interested in another topic. Wandless magic. The ministry doesn't think it's worth the resources because it's such a rare skill, but I've been doing some work on my own..."

The grin on Hermione's face grew as she muttered, "do Seamus" in his ear.

Bran nodded and looked toward Seamus, raised his right hand and muttered, _"vi vader"_. Bran's wand was still in Hermione's hand when the impossible happened.

Seamus seemed to be lifted from his chair, his eyes wide with surprise. He clutched at his neck for a moment, almost in a panic before he was lowered slowly back into the chair.

"Merlin's Barley..." Harry muttered, earning him a glare from Ginny.

"Life Father?" translated Luna in confusion.

"Force Vader...he bastardized a Muggle movie gimmick," Hermione explained

"You're muggle-born!" declared Dean with a grin.

"I'm a half-blood, but I was raised in Muggle schools," Bran said to Dean. Then he looked to Seamus, "you OK, mate? In the movie that kills a guy, but I mostly focused on the levitation." Seamus, had been (for once) speechless.

"Yeah," he replied, finding his voice, "that was brilliant! The Aurors will be all over you if they catch wind of this."

"Well, that's about all I can do, so they'd be buggered."

The party then dissolved into lively debate regarding Bran's research and the possibilities for wandless magic. Ron watched Luna closely. She seemed to be withdrawing from the party and refusing to meet his gaze. _Thought this kind of thing would interest her..._

Ginny tried to get Luna involved in the conversation a few times, and even mentioned Luna's conjuring abilities. Hermione enthusiastically told Bran about the shoe incident on Halloween, and he asked for a demonstration. Luna conjured herself a pair of trainers with a halfhearted wave of her wand and retreated back to the loveseat with Ginny.

"I never would have put that over on ya!" Bran responded. "I guess there _is_ a reason you're a Ravenclaw!"

Had Ron not spent most of his life annoying Hermione, he wouldn't have noticed the elbow she nudged into Bran's side, or how she quietly chastised him.

He also noticed Luna withdraw further as the evening went on, even in the face of Ginny's efforts to involve her in the conversation.

As midnight approached, Ron found himself alone in the kitchen, grabbing another butterbeer. _Damn Ginny and her campaign to keep us all sober_ , he thought.

Ron briefly entertained himself by listing all the ways she was turning into mum.

As he stood thinking, he didn't hear the barefoot witch enter the kitchen until she was right next to him.

"Ronald."

"Oh, hi Luna!"

"I thought you were going to come sit by me," she said, fixing him with a curious look.

"Well, you seemed busy with everyone, and Ginny…"

"Ok, I just wanted to say hello to you."

"Hello, Luna," Ron said with a grin. "Having fun?"

"A bit. There haven't been many parties like this whilst I was travelling with father. It was mostly he and I out there. It's nice to see friends."

"Yes, it is." Ron peeked back out into the sitting room and asked more quietly, "so what do you think of Bran?"

Luna's countenance darkened a bit. "I knew of him when we were in school, but didn't know him well. Some of his friends were…a bit unkind at times. It seems he believed what they said."

"And what was that?"

She stared directly at Ron. "That I'm barmy and an embarrassment to Ravenclaw, and I was only placed there because of my parents, and I must have some kind of special power to be allowed to stay."

"But Ginny always said you were brilliant in class, so they had to know they were wrong."

"The older kids weren't really in our classes…"

"I-I never thought you cared what other people thought? Isn't that what you told me? That I shouldn't listen to what other people say or think?"

Luna became thoughtful. "…I suppose I don't _want_ to care, but it doesn't keep things from hurting. There's also a difference between caring and cutting out rude people. And frankly, I have no desire to be around people who put me down."

"Like Bran."

She nodded and said, "I think I'm going to floo home and turn in. See you soon, Ronald."

As she walked toward the Floo, Ron made a decision. He wasn't going to dance around the issue like he had in the past. And frankly, while he didn't understand why Luna was upset tonight, he didn't like to see her sad.

So he conjured some courage, reached out and grabbed her hand. Pulled her closer to him, and leaned in to kiss her in the darkened corner of the kitchen. For a moment, it made sense. Her lips were soft, and she still smelled like citrus. Her hand found its way to his chest and sat there for a moment.

Then, just as he moved one of his hands to her jaw, she pushed him gently away.

"What?" he asked, eyes wide, searching her light blue ones for a clue.

"You fancy me," she said, looking up to him.

"Well, yeah...that's why I kissed you."

She seemed to be searching his eyes for something.

"What?" he asked again.

"I just...I know it's genuine, it's not a joke or something..."

"Why would it be a joke?"

"You have to admit you don't have the best track record with how you treat girls. I don't think you're purposefully cruel or thoughtless, but I do think you're a bit daft about how to go about things."

"Okay? What should I be doing differently?"

"You ignored me earlier."

"I did?"

"You could have said hi, or come and sat by me, and I know it's odd because of everyone here-"

"Ginny -"

"Since when do you listen to your sister?"

"I dunno, she's your friend. You choose to be around her, I'm forced into it by blood and marriage. And lately she's slowly turning into my mum. She's a bit frightening."

As she often did, Luna seemed to be having a conversation which only she could follow. "Think about it, Ron. She was a World Cup alternate, so she didn't get to play."

"So? There's always '06."

"But in four years she'll probably want kids, or Harry will want kids, and you know that female Quidditch players are basically out once they have kids. She's trying to figure out what she can be without Quidditch. You've been Harry's friend long enough to know what it's like to live in his shadow. She's finding an identity, and right now that means managing everything around her. Give her time Ronald."

"So I should ignore my sister?"

"When she's trying to manage your life."

"Um...so does that mean you do or don't want me to kiss you?"

"I want..." Luna was fidgeting with her hair and looking to the ceiling, as if it held some answers. "I want you to kiss me, but not if you're ashamed to be seen with me."

"I'm not ashamed to be seen with you."

"Okay."

"So can I..."

"No."

Ron blinked a few times and tried to catch his thoughts. Luna simply gazed around the room, apparently unaffected by the awkwardness around her.

"So..." Ron finally broke in.

"Maybe someday. But not until you really think about it. I'm not going to change who I am. So if you really do fancy me, which I think you do, you're going to have to be okay with being seen with me in public or discussing the Quibbler or talking about the Muggle Postmen or sitting next to me at a party. I'm not asking you to believe everything I believe. I'm just asking you to keep an open mind and allow the possibility in your life without falling over yourself in embarrassment."

"I wasn't falling over—wait, all that just to kiss you?" Ron gaped at her.

"Well, yes. I fancy you, Ronald. I'm not the kind of person who settles for just a snog, particularly with someone who I feel strongly about. And I think you feel the same way." She stared at him some more, doing that weird thing where she didn't blink.

"So you want…" Ron tried to make sense of the situation.

"I want you to figure out what you want," Luna said softly, "I know what you want. I know what I want. I think you know deep down what you want, but you need to come to that conclusion by yourself."

"Wouldn't it be easier just to tell me what I want? I promise I'll believe you," replied Ron.

Luna simply cradled his cheek in her hand and whispered, "Happy New Year, Ronald," then stepped into the floo and was gone.


	8. Blibbering Humdingers

**January 2003**

Ron had to do something. In a few short days Luna would be at the Burrow for Sunday Dinner. Worse still, so would at least a couple of his brothers, Ginny, and Harry. If they caught even the slightest whiff of discomfort, they would pounce. Not that he couldn't handle them. But he just didn't particularly want try to explain something that he hadn't yet figured out.

The remainder of New Years had been fairly uneventful. Harry and Seamus had turned in early, since they were on duty the next day. Hermione, Bran, Neville and Hannah had floo-ed to their respective homes (although when Bran stepped into the fire, it sounded suspiciously like he was going to Hermione's). Ron stayed up for a bit with Dean, playing Snap and pointedly ignoring his sister. But eventually he'd retired to his Grimmauld room, and Dean bunked with Seamus in the guest room.

For the next few days he'd worked with George and Angelina, but he'd been distracted. Pygmy Puffs were accidentally left to wander the store, Ton Tongue Toffees were mixed up with Skiving Snackboxes, and worst of all, the Headless Hats and the Humourous Hats (which turned the wearer into one of six famous wizards or a goat) got all jumbled up on the shelves. The shop, which usually perched on the edge of chaos, was well beyond any semblance of normal.

Early Friday afternoon (after Ron nearly dropped a box of fireworks into the floo), George gave up and sent him home. Ron idly wondered whether he'd take back his portion of the shop. Ron probably deserved it.

He paced the Burrow kitchen, pausing periodically to snatch a bite from the icebox.

"Oh, nut up, Ron," he finally muttered to himself. Taking his wand, he sent a patronus through the wall and returned to his pacing.

Within minutes, a silvery hare bounded into the room and sat in front of him. "I put you on the Floo list a few weeks ago so you don't have to apparate. Come on over," said the gentle voice.

Rather than give in to the temptation to try to decipher Luna's tone, Ron simply took a pinch of Floo powder and called out "The Rookery!" into the green flames.

He stepped out of the fireplace, his hands shaking with nervousness.

Luna sat, cross legged, in the center of the living room. Her hair was in a long braid and she was wearing fitted muggle trousers and a vest rather than her usual skirt. She exuded an aura of peace and calm.

"Good afternoon, Ronald!" she greeted him gaily. As if his mind weren't going faster than Ginny's new broom.

Ron self-consciously glanced around the room, feeling out-of-place. The sunny room was the definition of light, calm and harmony, and Luna seemed to radiate the same. Ron was sure his nervousness would send all this peace into chaos.

 _Might as well get on with it_.

"Luna…" he began, taking a deep breath. "I was thinking…" he found himself staring at the floor, at his shoes, at her loosely clasped hands as she just _sat_ there with mild interest, not getting up, not moving, just looking expectant… "Um, so, what you said at New Years, I thought about it, and you wanted to know what I wanted, and I'm still not all the way sure."

She blinked a few times, her face still placid.

He continued, "so I think you should know that I still think you're barmy."

"That didn't come out how you meant it, I hope?" she responded with a wry smile.

Ron's eyes widened. "Oh, no, I mean…I don't agree with you on things, and some of what you say is mad, but I think I realized that's _why_ I look forward to your notes, or seeing you. I figure that nothing is ever boring when you're around. And it's good exciting, not like, Harry-exciting where we almost die all the time. But you have to admit you're not like everyone else, and sometimes that takes getting used to."

Luna continued to calmly listen to Ron's rambling, not responding.

"But I'd like to. Get used to it, I mean, get the chance to get used to it. And I'm not ashamed of being seen with you or whatever, because you're brilliant and definitely more powerful than Bran-bloody-Owens, and if anyone else says something rude, I'll give them the what-for…"

She smiled at him from her cross-legged seat on the floor, the afternoon sun glinting off her hair.

Ron slowed down a bit and continued, "so anyway, I think I'm saying I realized that I fancy you, and that I can accept what that means, even if I don't always agree with you."

The house was silent for a moment as Luna looked back at him, her head cocked to the side.

"Very well, Ronald," said Luna, looking up at him expectantly.

Ron, still getting used to Luna's refusal to conform to social norms, puzzled over whether she was stubborn or just naïve to the way things were supposed to go. Sitting on the floor in a spot of sunshine was not the response he was intending or expecting.

"So…?" He met her eyes, finally, to find her studying his face again.

"Well, I suppose you can kiss me, since it seems that's what you'd like to do."

He once again gathered his courage ( _Merlin, you'd think it'd stick at some point)_ and strode over to Luna, offering his hand. As he helped her off the floor he pulled her close and held her by the waist. He had to stoop slightly to meet her lips, but she rose on her tiptoes to bridge the gap. As they had been on New Years, her lips were soft, but this time she was more enthusiastic in returning the kiss.

The churning in Ron's stomach turned to butterflies. It had been far too long since he'd kissed someone like that and meant it.

The kiss ended with Ron feeling as if he had just a bit of firewhiskey in his blood, and he pressed his forehead to Luna's. Her eyes seemed to be processing everything that had happened in the past 10 minutes.

"So what now?" Luna asked.

"Well, I've been informed that I need to behave more like a gentleman, so I reckon I should take you out on an actual date."

"Ok. Let me change first though, this isn't really appropriate…" and she wandered up the stairs to her bedroom.

"Um, Ok…I'll just wait here…" Ron said, then muttered, "I meant eventually, but in for a knut, in for a galleon…" The spontaneity of the suggestion hadn't fazed Luna at all, so he figured he'd just go with it.

She returned to the living room quickly, in her usual skirt and jumper. And bare feet and butterbeer necklace.

"Shoes?" he asked with a grin.

"Of course!" She quickly conjured a pair of boots. "Where are we going?"

"I hadn't gotten that far," Ron admitted, his ears reddening a bit, the nervousness returning. "Muggle or Wizard date?"

"Oh, fun! I haven't been to the cinema in ages! Muggle date!" Luna was practically dancing with glee.

"Muggle date it is then! I know of two cinemas from when…" Ron trailed off, a bit of panic in his eyes. It wouldn't do to mention an ex-girlfriend on a first date.

"From when you were with Hermione," finished Luna.

"Well, yes, but it's not proper of me…sorry about that."

"Ron, if you never mention Hermione, we'll never be able to talk about anything. She's been someone important to you for half your life."

"I know but I don't want to bodge this up."

"And I'm sure Dean will come up at some point, especially because he's going to be in Hannah's wedding with us. I promise not to hold Hermione or Lavender against you, if you promise not to hold Dean against me."

Ron's panic started to dwindle as he thought about it. "Deal."

"I actually know a quaint little cinema along the coast…and there's a tiny but delicious fish and chips shop next door," Luna said.

"You've got some excellent ideas in that head of yours."

"C'mon, I'll take us there," responded Luna, wrapping her arms around his waist.

After the film, Ron and Luna walked over to the chippy in the cold evening. As Luna had said, it was small, but clean and bright. The weathered man behind the counter looked at the pair as they walked in.

"Wat'll it be?" he asked gruffly.

"Just the platter for me, takeaway" Ron said as he pulled out more muggle money.

"Your fish, is it Haddock or Gulping Plimpy?" Luna asked the shopkeeper.

"Gulping Plimpy?" the man repeated, his eyebrows raised.

"Well, they're being overfished in the river, and I just wanted to make sure, as the gulping variety can easily be confused with haddock. The main differences are that the Plimpies tend to spawn-"

The man interrupted her and turned to Ron, "Does the nutter want fish or something else? Or is it just fun to have one on an old man?"

Ron froze. On one hand, Luna was likely threatening the Secrecy laws, and he was pretty sure that muggles had no way of catching Plimpy. He was also pretty sure that Gulping Plimpies didn't exist. On the other hand, this was a test of sorts. He didn't think Luna was the type to test him on purpose, but this _was_ his first opportunity to prove that he wasn't ashamed to be seen with her.

"Look, she just wants to know what type of fish it is so she can choose. Which I believe is her right." Ron put an arm around Luna's shoulders, pulling her closer. She looked up at him with mild surprise and gratitude.

The man behind the counter grunted. "It's Haddock. Which you well know, since that gulping thing isn't real." He stared hard at Luna as if she were going to argue with him.

"As long as you're sure. It can be so hard to tell sometimes….but in that case, I'll have a takeaway box, too," she responded.

"Thank you," said Ron pointedly, daring the man to call Luna a nutter again.

They left the shop, Ron carrying their takeaway boxes.

Luna stopped him just outside the shop and turned to face him. "Thank you, Ron."

"You're welcome. For…whatever I did."

She leaned up on tiptoe again, resting her hand on his cheek and kissing him soundly. "For everything," she said with an enigmatic smile. "So where to now?"

"I want to show you something, but you'll have to trust me to apparate us," replied Ron.

Luna took his arm and looked up at him, "of course, let's go!"

When they arrived ( _no splinching, thank you very much,_ thought Ron), Luna looked confused. "Your family's Quidditch pitch?"

"Follow me," replied Ron with his own mysterious smile, taking her hand tightly in his. He led her to the trees that lined the pitch, and down a narrow path. "After Fred…after the war, my brothers and Ginny and I figured we needed a place to go. If we needed a break from mum or reporters or anything…so we made a place. Bill did most of the charms work, and Charlie and Percy did a lot of the building and transfiguring. George and I…well, George didn't do much of anything, and I was in Australia for a lot of it. But we helped some of it together and Ginny decorated with Harry once we got back, so here it is…"

What Ron and his siblings had built was best described as a fort. It was in a narrow wooded area at the edge of the Burrow, hidden from both the house and the pitch, overlooking the cemetery where Fred was buried.

From the outside, the fort was tiny and looked like a rickety wooden shack.

Inside was bigger (thanks to Bill's enlarging charms). But what was most remarkable were the walls. Rather than wooden planks, they had been charmed to be see-through so the occupant could watch the cemetery or the woods. Even the roof was translucent, allowing Luna and Ron to look up at the stars. A warming charm had been added ("we switch it to a cooling charm for the summer," Ron added) so the inside was comfortable. Ron set their food out on the table and they settled onto a comfortable loveseat.

As they ate, Luna looked around in wonder. "So when you're all home, do you fight about it?" she asked.

"Not really. Although at one point George rigged it so an alarm went off if Ginny brought Harry out here. That's how we knew he was doing a bit better."

"You're sure they haven't done the same to you?" she asked with a smile. "I don't have any siblings, so I'm not sure how all this works. It seems fun, growing up in a big family."

"I'm pretty sure we'd know if they jinxed it. Clearly, the big family thing has its ups and downs. Ups like cool forts. Downs like Percy and Ginny."

After they finished their supper, Luna vanished their trash and curled up against Ron's chest, gazing up at the stars above them.

Ron wrapped his arms around Luna. He was still a bit nervous about the whole thing; didn't want to scare her off. But she'd been cheerful and affectionate all day, and he was beginning to relax. Things with Lavender and Hermione had been very sudden and intense, in completely different ways.

 _Figures that my most normal dating experience is with Loony Lovegood._

Things with Lavender had felt rushed and almost out of control…he'd intended simply to make Hermione jealous, but had gotten caught up in the whole thing. With Hermione…things had built for so long that grand gestures were the only option. And after the final battle, he'd thrown himself into the relationship at the expense of everything else. In avoidance of everything else. And she'd done the same.

Ron shook thoughts of the past out of his head. In the present, he had a very pretty witch in his arms, who seemed (for reasons he didn't understand) interested in him. That was enough for now.

"So, did I pass the test or whatever?" he asked after a comfortable silence.

"The only test was your own mind, Ronald," she replied, looking up at him. He pulled her up to kiss her again as the stars twinkled above them.


	9. Sunday Dinner

**January 2003**

When Ron walked into work on Saturday morning, George eyed him warily.

"You got yourself sorted out then? No more blowing up the shop? I mean, we're usually about to blow up, but we don't need you making it worse." George clapped Ron on the shoulder as he teased him.

"Yeah, I got it sorted," Ron said, trying to avoid the conversation.

"Is 'it' a girl then?" asked Angelina.

"Not going to talk about it." Ron went to feed the pygmy puffs, refusing to make eye contact with his brother or Angelina.

"Anyone we knoooooow?" asked George with a teasing tone.

Ron sighed. "Not going to talk about it!" he repeated.

"So it is someone we know," Angelina stage whispered to George.

"Not going to talk about it!" Ron repeated again as he refilled the puffs' water dish. "Just drop it."

"Just a little hint, dear brother? Do we know her or not?"

"Fine!" Ron spat at him (although he was really only half annoyed), "you know her, in that she is a witch, close to our age, who went to Hogwarts. That narrows it down to about 400 people. Better start making a list!"

For the rest of the day, George and Angelina randomly yelled various names at Ron, trying to gauge his reaction.

"Romilda Vane! Right? Wasn't she that girl in Ginny's year?"

"Oh, maybe he tried again with Susan Bones!"

"Who's that girl who works with Percy? The one with the thing on her nose? I bet it's her!"

"He finally gave in and went after the Bulstrode bird. You make a beautiful couple, Ron!"

At one point they even guessed correctly.

"What if it's Loony? They can have a gaggle of Humdingers or whatever she's into…"

But Ron schooled his features and didn't respond, just as he hadn't responded to the rest of the teasing. They'd find out at some point, but he'd rather it be on his terms, not theirs.

* * *

When Sunday dinner came around, Ron's palms were sweating. Luna would come, of course. And so would Bill, Percy, George and Harry. And all their various families. Ron also hadn't told his parents about his date either, and he wasn't sure how they'd react. Plus, outside of a quick note the day before, he hadn't talked to Luna since Friday, and was unsure about her feelings. How did one even bring it up? _Oh, Luna, by the way, my entire family is going to take the Mickey once they found out we went out, except my mum. She's just going to cry because she thinks that going on one date means we'll get married and pop out babies next week. Oh, and Ginny will lose her mind._

Then Ron spend a half hour wondering if Luna told Ginny about their date, and how Ginny responded. And what Luna thought about it.

Maybe the whole thing had been a mistake.

"Ronald Weasley, I asked you hours ago to please expand the table and put a warming charm on the porch!"

"Sorry, Mum," he said as he drug himself down the stairs. A whole morning, wasted on worrying about something he couldn't change.

After expanding the table and warming the porch, Ron distracted himself by melting the patches of ice which had sprung up on the walk. Sure, it was amusing when the gnomes slipped their way into the ditch, but it would be much less funny if it was Fleur or Angelina. Or one of the children.

As often happens, nearly everyone showed up at the same time, just as Ron was drying the steps. Inside the house, Percy and his family stumbled out of the floo, followed by Bill, Fleur and Victoire. George and Angelina preferred apparition, despite Molly's protests that it wasn't good for the baby.

"Honestly, Molly," Angelina said as she went in the house and Molly started clucking at her, "things have changed. The Mediwitch says it's preferable to knocking around in the floo all day…"

"Oui," added Fleur, helping Angelina with her coat, "ma mama says zee same, zee floo eez much rougher…but Shell Cottage eez so far to apparate…zee bebe will be alright eizer way. Angie eez a strong witch, Mama Weasley."

Shortly after, Harry and Ginny apparated onto the front walk with Teddy in tow, and Ron followed them into the house. Everyone stood in the hallway, taking off their hats, gloves and scarves, when there was another pop on the walk.

Luna glided through the front door and greeted everyone, hugging Ginny and Harry. She picked her way around the boots and hats littering the hall until she got to Ron.

Then she kissed him, right in front of everyone.

The friendly chatter (and Molly's argument with Angelina and Fleur) died out, and everyone from Arthur to Baby Molly stared at them. Luna, oblivious, started unwinding her scarf from her neck.

Then Ginny made that skrewt sound again.

"Ginny…" Molly chided, sounding confused.

"Don't 'Ginny' me! I told him not to do this, I went out of my way to keep him away from her, but no. Ron has to go after the one friend I have to myself. I have to share Harry. I have to share Hermione. But Luna is _my_ friend."

"Oh, shove it, Ginny. You told me to get my thumb out of my arse, not to stay away from her. Not that it's your business, remember?"

Harry looked between the two and said quietly, "I think I was the one who told you to get your thumb-"

"The _children!"_ scolded Audrey.

"Sorry." Ron looked to his mum.

"Sorry." Harry looked at the ground.

"ARGH!" screeched Ginny again, and she ran up the stairs.

Everyone was quiet, staring at Ron and Luna. Even Teddy's eyes were wide, and Harry seemed unsure of where to put his hands.

"Well that went well," said Ron to break the silence.

Luna looked at him, brows furrowed. "Really? I don't think it went well at all."

Molly seemed to snap herself out of her shock and wiped her hands on her apron. "Well, I'd better go check on her. Luna, do you think you should come with, or…."

"No, I'll come. I didn't know she felt so strongly about the situation. I do apologize." She gave Ron an apologetic glance and followed Molly up the stairs.

 _Better her than me,_ thought a very un-Gryffindor part of Ron's brain.

Arthur ushered everyone into the living room and summoned some butterbeers and pumpkin juice from the other room. As everyone settled in, Ron found himself the object of curious gazes and murmurs. Every once in a while a raised voice (Molly's? Ginny's? The two were indistinguishable lately) broke through the walls, the words indecipherable.

George was the first to speak. "So…I owe Angelina 10 galleons."

"Whatever for, dear brother?" asked Bill, an impish smile on his usually serious face. Apparently Ron had been the subject of many floo-calls.

"Well, you see, we reckoned he'd found himself a lady friend, and Angelina was _sure_ it was the dotty blonde up there. I, of course, was pulling for Millicent Bulstrode, as we all were…"

The remaining Weasley men and Harry murmured their agreement.

"But Angelina was _so sure_ it was Loony-"

Ron narrowed his eyes. "Luna. Alright? Take the Mickey out of me, not her."

"Okay then…anyway, I can't be too heartbroken, because we share a vault, you know. But I'll have the goblins move it from my corner to her corner or something like that."

"We could get some buckets to keep in there," added Angelina. "Bets I've won, bets you've won, antes we've put up…"

"I've still got 5 Galleons on Charlie actually marrying a dragon," added George.

The room lapsed into silence once again. Female voices floated down the stairs every few minutes.

Audrey, who was usually the quietest person in the room, broke the quiet. "So…anyone care to fill me in on Ginny? What's that about?"

Heads swiveled to look at Harry. He raised his hands in defeat. "Bugger if I know! She was totally normal until we got here. She's fine unless Ron and Luna are around."

Arthur chuckled. "Yep, you married a Prewett woman alright!"

"Luna thinks it's about Quidditch," supplied Ron.

The women in the room looked at him in confusion. "Quidditch? Really? I mean, I like it and all, but it has nothing to do with you or Luna, or Ginny's mood," Angelina said.

"No, zee men zink it eez always about sports….you must have misunderstood 'er."

Ron shrugged. The whole thing was a mystery to him.

Percy laid a hand on Audrey's arm and cleared his throat. He said quietly, "you know, she never really had a breakdown about…everything. We all did, but Ginny was just…"

Harry nodded as if pieces were falling into place. "She was strong for everyone. She moved on so fast."

"Yeah, we couldn't all be basket cases. That was my job," added George. Angelina nudged him in the side, then laid a head on his shoulder.

"And she was there for Hermione when she fell apart that first semester back…" said Ron.

"And that first Christmas when I…well…you were there…" added Harry.

"And when Ron and Hermione broke up and he didn't sleep for 3 days and drank all the firewhiskey in London, she insisted on checking on him every few hours" said Percy.

Audrey stroked the back of Percy's hand. "Hey, she didn't have to support everyone. I was the one who talked you out of quitting the ministry and moving to France."

"George and Percy came to bail out Bill when he threatened to bite zat reporter who asked me on a date. Zee Aurors were quite upset."

"You were 9 months pregnant!" protested Bill, "and besides, you were the one who convinced the Goblins to chase the reporters away."

"Weel, even so, eet was a good sing zey let you off work when Victoire was born. Gave you some time to grieve, finally."

Arthur gave the group a sad smile and patted Harry on the shoulder. "Well, we've all made it through, one way or another…you think it's all catching up to Ginny?"

Ron thought about how neither of his parents functioned for almost six months after Fred died. His father puttered around the shed, never accomplishing anything, and his mum stared off into space. They hadn't protested when he moved in with Harry, or when Ginny spent most of the summer at Grimmauld. They hadn't fought the trip to Australia. Their grief was something Ron hadn't been able to understand. But he'd spent almost 2 years avoiding his grief, and it had caught up to him after he and Hermione broke up.

And he didn't want his sister to feel that way.

"Yeah," said Harry, his voice thick, "she's been stressed about everything, and after the World Cup…I don't know how to explain it, she seems lost. She'll have good days, but then get upset about something insignificant."

"Think I should go talk to her?" asked Ron, hoping someone would tell him no.

Arthur snorted. "Son, if you're the object of a woman's ire… _any_ woman…you stay far away and let someone else deal with it."

"Thank Merlin," Ron replied, looking to Harry with relief.

"I sink zat Harry should be zee one to talk to 'er," added Fleur. Every man in the room gave him a sympathetic look.

"Me?" The girls nodded. Harry sighed and stood up. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck!" chorused the Weasley brothers as Harry drug himself up the stairs.

A few minutes later, Luna came back down and stood at the threshold of the living room. "Molly says we should just start eating. Save a plate for her and Ginny and Harry." Luna beckoned Ron to come in the hall with her.

"Everything okay?" he asked as she wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest.

"Yes. I think she'll be okay…she's not mad at me, or you really. She's just…mad. Life would be much easier if people just had their feelings instead of having the feelings they think they're supposed to be having."

Ron nodded, despite the fact that he didn't understand what she said, or how it applied to Ginny. Instead of puzzling it out, he bent to kiss Luna again before saying, "my brothers are probably going to tease you a bit. They don't mean anything by it, it's just how they show people they like them."

"Exactly what I'm talking about," said Luna, leading him into the kitchen.

Ron followed, bewildered as usual.


	10. Ron the Test Subject

**January 2003**

Monday morning, Ron was in the back room of Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes testing out new skiving snackboxes. Madam Pomfrey figured out how to detect the old models, so Ron and George spent the better part of a year improving the illness-inducing potions. Their biggest difficulty was that didn't have access to many Hogwart's students. Without anyone to sneak the boxes in (and test whether Pomfrey could detect them), Ron and George were left to test them out themselves. So Ron took the fever potion, and Angelina used every diagnostic charm she could think of.

After nearly two hours, they were both frustrated. Angelina could still detect that the fever wasn't real, but Ron downed the antidote anyway and collapsed into a chair to drink a glass of water and think. One of the ingredients wasn't working right, and none of them could figure it out.

The charm at the door rang. _George and Angelina can help them…they owe me that much for being the test subject this morning,_ Ron thought. He'd have to bribe Ginny or Harry or Neville to test things out the next time. In the past week alone, he'd tested out the nosebleed formula twice, the puking one four times, the fever one twice, the pink-eye formula once, and the fainting one twice. _Damn pregnancy, giving Angelina a free pass._

It wasn't fair, really, to blame her. It was more fair to blame George. He somehow weaseled out of most of the testing by busying himself with inventory, accounting and the like. Although if Ron was honest with himself, he preferred the puking to the office work.

"Ronny-kins!" George's voice came from the front of the shop.

"Oi! Give me a few. Still recovering. You're the one puking when we test the pastilles on Wednesday!"

Ron leaned his head on his hands and closed his eyes. The Fever Fancies had an awful hangover-like effect if you kept it in your system for more than a few minutes. They'd have to work on that, too.

A blonde head poked into the back room. "I just wanted to say hi while I was out delivering Quibblers—" She stopped and looked at the notes, potions and wrappers that littered the table. "You lot test these on _yourselves_?! Please tell me you don't let Angelina take a turn." Luna put a hand on Ron's forehead to test his temperature.

"Well, not while she's pregnant…"

Luna stared at Ron for a minute, her head cocked to the side. He closed his eyes. When he opened them (5 minutes later? 30 minutes later? His head ached), she was examining the parchment used to track the different formulas while muttering to herself.

"Drink your water," she said distractedly, and nudged a glass closer to him. He obeyed. She muttered some more, then looked at him. "Who did the initial calculations for this?"

"Calculations?"

"Yes, the Arithmancy calculations…it's the most precise way to develop a potion. Didn't you pay attention in 7th year…oh."

Ron laughed. "None of us have taken Arithmancy. Or 7th year potions. Well, maybe Angelina, but I doubt it. Anyway, it's mostly trial-and-error. George and F-Fred tested the original ones out on first years-"

Luna looked…well, not alarmed, but maybe concerned. "That sounds foolish. It's a wonder McGonagall didn't kick them out."

Ron put his head back on the table as Luna looked at the paper again. "You're not helpful here, Ron," he heard her say faintly. He really needed a Pepper-up. Or a nap. He nodded into the table, eyes closed. "Ronald." He was almost asleep. "Ron!"

"Wha?" he said, lifting his head.

"Come along, I'm going to have a word with your brother."

She took his arm and half-drug him to the front of the store., and placed him in front of George and Angelina. "This," Luna gestured to Ron, "is not helping. May I borrow him for a bit? I think I can solve your problem." She held up the parchment with the potions recipe. "Can I borrow these for the other formulas, too? I promise they'll come back."

"Um, those are proprietary…" said Angelina, looking confused.

"Yes, I'll be sure they'll only go to my house, then come right back. With proper calculations this time." She shot George a Look. George also looked confused.

Ron nodded, eyes still closed. His headache was getting worse.

George acquiesced. "Fine, just bring him back once you've fixed him up," he said, handing her a bundle of parchment.

"Alright." Luna took Ron's arm again to lead him out of the store. As they crossed the threshold she turned and motioned toward the wheelbarrow full of Quibblers outside the door. "Angelina, be a dear and re-load the paper machines at Olivianders, Fortescue's and the Cauldron, please? I've left the key on the box by your door."

Angelina still looked confused. "We have loads of stuff to do here, Luna. We can't just leave and do your work—"

"That's fine," replied Luna. "I'll just take Ronald to his mum then and explain what's happened then I'll be back for my papers."

George and Angelina looked at one another and had a wordless conversation. Ron smiled despite his headache. Luna sounded sweet and matter-of-fact, but she knew how Molly would react to the "product testing" stage of development. Especially if Ron came home from work in his current state.

"No, you go take care of Ronny-kins. Angie and I will take care of the Quibbler," George said with a sigh as Angelina nodded.

"Thank you so much! I promise I'll make it worth your while by fixing these calculations."

"And your boyfriend," added Angelina with a teasing glint in her eye. Ron's ears reddened.

"Yes, that, too, I suppose." Luna looked at him, then took his arm, and they apparated to the Lovegoods.

Luna led Ron to the couch and summoned a damp cloth for his eyes. He could hear her rummaging through the cabinets, then the sound of a mortar and pedestal.

"This is probably not as helpful as a proper potion, but it should do the trick," she said as she gave him a glass of water tinged with herbs.

"I usually just take a Pepper-up and a pain potion. Should've grabbed some from the shop."

"And what happens when they wear off?"

"George stuffs me in the Floo and I stumble up to my bedroom."

"Exactly." She watched him down the glass of herbed water, then refilled it. "Drink this, too. You're probably dehydrated."

"You know, when Muggles are dehydrated they put needles into their veins and pour water in."

"Sure they do." She looked concerned.

"And they use needles to inject pain potions right into their teeth."

"I think you need to lie down. I'm supposed to be the loony one," Luna said as she rubbed his back gently.

After drinking the second glass, Ron laid back down on the hideous pink couch and hoped Luna's mixture would work quickly. From beneath his cool cloth he could hear her rummaging around some more. He drifted off to sleep to the sound of her quill on the parchment.

When he opened his eyes, an hour had passed and his headache was gone. So was the heavy, sluggish feeling he got after product testing. Whatever Luna gave him worked. In the corner of the room, she was hunched over a large desk, surrounded by several books and ink-stained parchment. She muttered quietly to herself as she worked. She'd set a variety of dirigible plums along the window sill, and was wearing a tiara etched in runes. From outside, the sun poured into the room, glinting off of Luna's hair. She seemed to glow. Her jumper sleeves were pushed up and her wand was over her ear. There was a smudge of ink on her cheek. Ron thought she was adorable.

She hardly seemed to notice when Ron made his way across the room and peered over her shoulder. Luna had filled pages and pages with Arithmancy calculations and cross-references to the books on her desk. Leaned over her shoulder to look, wrapping his arms around her and breathing in the scent of her shampoo.

"Your brothers have good instincts on these things. It's quite remarkable, really," she said, half distracted. "It's a shame they never applied themselves. But I suppose sometimes too much schooling can make it harder to do things correctly."

"They applied themselves to what they wanted. Like torturing me. And the shop."

"Yes, but look how the formula improved after you joined in. And you only had 6th year potions, but you lot figured out how to refine it pretty well even without proper calculations."

Ron looked at the scribbled parchment she pushed toward him. None of it made sense, but he nodded anyway. "Pomfrey figured it out, though. So we're trying to make them less detectable."

Luna looked up at him, blinking as if seeing him for the first time. "Oh, you're feeling better! There's food in the cold pantry if you'd like it." She turned back to her work, flipping the pages of one of the books

Kissing her on the forehead, Ron thanked her ambled over to the pantry. Luna had half a loaf of bread, a small dish of goat cheese and a bowl of fruit. "I'll grab more food from my mum if I eat all of yours," he called over to her. Her head bobbed a few times, but he wasn't sure she heard him. Her quill continued to scratch on the parchment.

Ron slid a plate onto the desk next to her before settling back on the couch with his own lunch. Lacking anything else to read, he picked up a Quibbler from the table and flipped through it as he ate. He was halfway through an article titled: "Charmed Robots: The Secret to the Chudley Cannon's Next Season?" when Luna interrupted.

"You made me a plate!"

He looked up, and she was smiling ear to ear. "I reckoned you'd be hungry, too…"

"You shared food," she grinned back, as if she'd just won the Quidditch cup. Or whatever the Luna equivalent of that was. Ron shrugged and went back to his reading.

A few minutes later she interrupted him again. "I think it's finished. I gave you two options. The first one is like what you have now, with an active side of the candy, and the antidote. Of course, that produces more by-products, so it's going to be easier to detect, and Madam Pomfrey has already caught on to that. The other option is to have _three_ parts. The first is the part that makes you sick, but there's a middle part you take after you get to the infirmary, or when you're on your way. It neutralizes some of the ingredients in the first part, so when Madam Pomfrey does her diagnostics, she won't figure out that it was induced. Then, later you take the third, which gets rid of the rest of the symptoms. The other problem you had was that no one took into account the effect of the sweets on the potions. You can't develop a potion separate from the carrier, because the carrier, the pastilles or nougat or fancy, changes how the potion is metabolized." She pulled different papers out of the stack and putting them in front of Ron, as if he understood. "So part of what the second piece does is counteract the flavoring and sugar. Finally, I don't think it's wise to make them in one piece. The ingredients can mix in the middle and give you unexpected results. Come to think of it, that's probably why you were so sick today, well, that and how long it was in your system. According to this, you only have about a half hour before you have to take the neutralizer or the antidote, or you start getting the symptoms for real."

Ron's eyes glazed over halfway through Luna's explanation. "Can you put that in proper English? So George and I can understand it?"

"Do either of you speak proper English?"

Ron raised his eyebrows at her and seh blinked back, saying "you're best off making it in 3 parts and keeping it from mixing. That'll buy you a few years before Pomfrey figures it out. I wrote down the potions on this one. A few will take longer to brew than before, but they'll be safer."

Ron looked at the new recipes in awe. "This is brilliant!" She'd solved in an hour what they'd been working on for weeks.

"You can get a lot done if you don't limit yourself to the way you're supposed to think. But you already know that, what with George and Fred..." She trailed off and started stacking parchment. "Oh, and before you test them, have Hermione or Ginny check my calculations because sometimes I make foolish mistakes when I get too excited." She shoved another stack of parchment toward Ron.

"After yesterday, I don't think Ginny is going to be very helpful."

"Oh, she's just pregnant." Luna continued to sort the papers as if she'd causally mentioned the temperature or what was for dinner.

Ron looked at her, mouth open. "She told you she's _pregnant_?!"

"I don't think she knows yet…" Luna stood to put the books back on the shelves.

" _Luna!"_

"Yes?"

"Uh, that's one of those things you have to explain. You can't just drop a bomb like that and move on."

"Okay." She continued re-shelving books.

Ron cleared his throat. "Luna?"

"Yes?"

"So what makes you think my sister is pregnant? The overall daft-ness? Let me tell you, it's nothing new. She's always been a prat."

"She's different. It's hard to explain, I just know when these things happen. I mean, part of it is her mood, but part is the size of her-"

"But you're sure?"

"No one can be fully sure of anything," she responded vaguely as she tidied up her desk.

Of course. Ron wasn't sure whether he should believe her or not, so he filed this in the 'wait and see' portion of his brain. That portion was getting larger every time he was with Luna.

* * *

When they returned to the shop, it was only half 12.

"Nice of ya to re-join us, Ron. Having a nooner today?" George grinned at the pair and raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Ron's ears got red again, but Luna seemed unaffected by (or unaware of) the teasing. She marched up to George and handed him the potions instructions she'd developed. He flipped through them, skeptical at first. But after the first one he flipped a bit faster. By the end he was excited.

"Three parts? Why didn't we think of that…it's brilliant!"

"That's what I told her," Ron said fondly.

"Ange!" George called into the back room. "Come see this!"

The couple huddled over the parchment for a few minutes, exclaiming over the changes to the formula.

"So, Lovegood, you want a job or something?" George asked after whispering with his wife.

"No, I'm okay. The Quibbler is quite busy," she said, looking up from the Pygmy Puff she was petting. "Thank you, by the way, for finishing the deliveries. It was helpful."

"He's serious, Luna," interjected Angelina, "I know he takes the Mickey, but this is a game-changer for us. We have other formulas you could look at…you could be a consultant or something, help us troubleshoot."

Luna shrugged her shoulders vaguely. "I suppose. If you need me, let me know. It was fun, like solving a mystery!"

"So what do we owe you for today?" George asked. "We'll pay you fair wages, you saved us heaps of work."

Luna looked at her feet and drummed her toes on the stone floor. "I don't like adding money into personal relationships…it tempts the nargles, you know."

Everyone stared at her, waiting for her to explain further. Instead she looked to Ron with a cheery grin. "You get off at 4 o'clock, right? I'll meet you then! And so she turned to grab her wheelbarrow and skipped out of the store.

"Barmy, that one," George muttered.

"But she's smart, too. I don't know what to make of her," Angelina added.

Ron couldn't help but agree.

* * *

 **A/N In my head cannon, Arithmancy is kind of math, but can also be applied like Chemistry to predict how potions/spells will work.**


	11. Of Owl Sweaters, Crazy Sisters and Exes

**January 2003**

Four o'clock. As it usually did on Mondays, the minutes crawled by until Verity came to cover the rest of the evening. But as soon as she sat behind the counter, Ron dashed into the back room to grab his cloak, then out into Diagon Alley toward the Quibbler offices.

The Quibbler's new offices (well, new since the war) were above the apothecary. From down the road, Ron could see the garish Quibbler sign, charmed to glow 24/7. On weeks that Luna printed the newest edition, the printing press ran all night, lending a "thump, thump" to the surrounding areas. Ron heard that Cormac McLaggen (the wanker) lived in the flat next door and had to constantly re-cast silencing charms. And complained about it to anyone who would listen. Well, until the incident in the floo. Since re-growing his arm, he'd been staying with his mother.

Ron mounted the back steps, grateful to be out of the sharp wind. He opened the door (which now had Luna's name alongside her father's), to the warm scent of ink and paper. Luna's editor, Nancy, nodded in Ron's direction, then toward the door to Luna's private office before turning back to her work.

Should he have been surprised to find her sitting cross-legged on her desk? Probably not. He _was_ a bit startled to find her talking directly to Badius. The owl perched on Luna's left arm and she stroked his head. He had a thick letter tied to his leg.

"Hello, Ron!" she said, not breaking eye contact with the owl.

"Hi, Luna."

She kept staring at the bird.

"Hi, Badius," he said, to fill the silence.

"I was just giving him a pep talk. It's quite cold here, and he's looking forward to Portugal. But crossing the Channel is downright unpleasant this time of year, and he dreads it so."

"Should knit him a sweater or something," said Ron, sitting in Luna's chair.

"But Ronald, how would he take it off as he made his way south? You wouldn't want him to overheat." She hadn't looked up from the owl.

"I was joking, Luna."

"Oh. Seems like an odd thing to joke about. He really is uncomfortable, you know."

"Seems like an odd thing to sit on your desk and talk to an owl."

She looked up and shrugged. "I suppose. But where else shall I talk to him?"

Unsure of how to respond, Ron changed the subject. "Neville stopped by and said he was visiting Hannah tonight. Want to have dinner with them?"

"Oh, how fun!"

She kissed Badius once on the head (Ron wondered if he should be more affectionate toward Pigwigeon...do owls need affection?), ushered him out the window, and hopped off the desk. As they left the Quibbler offices, she waived to Nancy and laced her fingers between Ron's. Then, they made their way down the stairs and out into the Alley.

"Ron?" she asked, as they waived to Mr. Ollivander, "is this our second or third date?"

"Well," he said, not quite understanding the question, "I don't reckon dinner with my family counts. Or watching you do arithmancy."

"So it's our second?"

"Sure. Why not?"

"Okay," she said, gazing absently at the shop windows around her.

Rather than wonder at Luna's questions, Ron chose to tell her more about his day. "George and Angelina were right pleased with your work. George is serious when he says he'll pay you. They were even talking about asking you to come help after the baby's born."

"Help with the baby or the shop?"

"The shop, Luna. You have good instincts."

"Oh. Well, it may be fun. I'm not sure how things will be with the Quibbler though."

They'd reached the back entrance to the Leaky Cauldron, and stepped inside. For a Monday evening it was relatively empty, aside from some of the regulars. Hannah waived them over from behind the bar and Neville sat on one of the stools, nursing a pint. When he noticed Ron and Luna, he stood, shaking Ron's hand with a smile.

Luna flung herself at Neville, wrapping him in a bear hug. A shot of jealousy ran through Ron for a split second. He knew the two were close, but there was some instinctual part of him that felt insecure at the reunion. A reunion he'd seen countless times before.

 _Bloody hell, I'm jealous of Neville_. Ron closed his eyes and imagined 11-year-old Neville bumbling his way through 1st year charms. He felt a bit better.

When he opened them, Luna gave him a quizzical look. _No need for her to figure out I'm a basket case._ Instead of explaining, he gestured toward the barstools next to Neville and they sat down to chat with their friends.

Partway through dinner (Hannah's shepherd's pie wasn't as good as his mum's, but it was decent), his sister's voice floated through the pub. "Neville!" She dodged between the tables, Harry and Hermione close behind her.

Ron glanced at Luna, who seemed unaffected by this development, despite the events of last night. Granted, Luna actually talked to Ginny after her outburst. Ginny ignored Ron for the rest of Sunday evening, only slipping out of her bedroom when he'd gone to see Luna home. Not that Ron minded, of course. He really didn't fancy having a showdown with her.

Luna smiled and dashed over to hug Ginny as if nothing had changed between the two of them. Ron, on the other hand, had no idea where he stood with his sister. So he was quite surprised when she engulfed him in a hug as well. Over her shoulder he looked to Harry, who just shrugged, looking a bit lost.

As the evening went on, Ron felt less anxious about his sister and her reaction. She didn't bat an eye when Luna kissed Ron for passing the salt (although that got some raised eyebrows from Hermione). After a few pints, he began to relax and enjoy the evening with his friends. He missed working with Harry and Neville. Sure, George, Angelina and Verity were fun, but it wasn't the same. Heck, he even missed lunches with Hermione, in spite of her endless blabbering on about House Elves or Werewolves or whatever.

"So," Neville said during a lull in the conversation, "explain this." He gestured toward Ron and Luna's clasped hands. Ron's face got red and he looked to Luna to rescue him.

"Angelina called him my boyfriend earlier. Would you say that's accurate, Ronald?" she asked. She looked to him as if she had asked about the weather.

"Uh…"

Ginny began giggling. Ron shot her a look.

"Well," he said when his brain began forming words again, "yeah, if you want to be…I mean, we haven't had that conversation yet, but I'd like it if you were…" He was stumbling on his words, his face still red.

"So Ron's my boyfriend," finished Luna, matter-of-factly, then she returned to her soup. Harry joined Ginny in chuckling. Soon Hermione cracked a smile, and Neville began laughing, too. When Hannah came over, she looked at them, confused. Neville whispered in her ear, and she began to laugh as well.

Ron replied sarcastically, "thanks for the support you guys. Means a lot." His ears were still red. Luna squeezed his hand and he looked up at her. She was grinning as well.

Ginny explained, "well, it's just so…Luna…and you have no idea what to do about it." Everyone dissolved into laughter again as Ginny did a good-natured imitation of Ron stumbling over himself.

Soon the group split. The girls stayed at the bar, chatting with Hannah, and the boys found a booth in the back to play chess. After some initial ribbing from his friends, Ron forgot about their reaction and focused on the game. He was startled out of his concentration by a tap at his shoulder.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?" Hermione asked.

Ron was somewhat bewildered as Hermione led him to an empty corner.

She took a deep breath. "I just want you to know I'm happy for you and Luna. I-I think she's a bit scared of me. Make sure she knows that I'm okay with everything." Hermione looked a bit nervous. Ron knew she struggled to keep female friends, and although she thought Luna was nuts, she treasured the friendship.

"Done." Ron thought for a moment. "I want to tell you I'm happy for you and Bran, but…"

"He was a wanker at New Years," she finished for him.

"Hermione!" he said with a smile. Then he became serious. "You can do better."

She snorted. "You and Harry will never think anyone's good enough."

"Well, yeah, that's our job." He said it without thinking. After all, he'd spent almost 12 years looking after Hermione. It wasn't going to change. She'd moved from 'friend' to 'girlfriend' to 'sister' somewhere between everything. And she deserved better than Bran bloody Owens.

Tears formed at the corner of Hermione's eyes and she smiled at him. "Thank you," she said, and gave him a tight hug around the neck. Over her head, Ron spotted Luna going toward the loo with Ginny. She raised her eyebrows at him and he smiled back. When Luna's face fell a little, Ron released Hermione. Remembering his own jealousy of Luna's platonic hug with Neville, he felt a small stab of guilt. After all, if he felt jealous when Luna greeted a friend, of course she might feel jealous if he was hugging his ex-girlfriend in a dark corner.

He sat back down to watch Harry and Neville duel it out whilst he kept one eye towards the girls' loo.

"What'd Hermione want?" asked Harry, watching Neville's rook.

"She wanted me to tell Luna to stop being afraid of her. And you're giving away your strategy by looking at your next move."

Neville said, as he moved the rook out of the way, "we're all afraid of Hermione, hasn't she figured it out?"

"Bloody terrifying," Ron and Harry muttered in unison.

"I told her my thoughts on Bran," Ron finished.

Harry sighed. "He's not that bad, I've met him a few times. I don't know what was going on on New Years."

Ginny and Luna came out of the loo then, and Ron managed to grab Luna's arm as she walked past. The smile was back on her face and the girls' heads were together, giggling. She turned to him.

"Yes, Ronald?" He pulled her into his lap. "What?"

"Just wanted to let you know I'm glad you're here. And Hermione wants you to know that she's happy about us."

Luna's face lit up. "Really? That's nice of her to say!"

"And I told her that Bran was a wanker."

Luna laughed. "I would have chosen a different word. We cannot stoop to the level of those who cannot raise to ours." It was a close as Luna would get to an insult. "Anyway," she said, leaning closer and wrapping her arms around his shoulders as she settled on his lap. Her hair tickled Ron's face and filled the air with that citrusy scent he'd come to like. "Ginny's in a better mood tonight and wants to go on a double date sometime. Me and you, her and Harry."

"After last night, I find that hard to believe. Sure she's not going to go full banshee in the middle of Hogsmeade or something?"

"I told you, it's the hormones. I can get you a pamphlet, Ronald, if that would help?"

He couldn't tell if Luna was serious or joking. He thought back on the evening…Ginny _had_ ordered pumpkin juice instead of butterbeer. She'd mentioned taking a few weeks off of practice. Harry had a stupid grin on his face a few times, like he had a secret… "You still think she's…well…"

"She didn't say anything. They probably want to wait a few weeks to tell anyone. Safer that way. If you tell people too early, it tempts the pixies. They don't want to end up with a changeling."

Ron wrapped his arms tighter around her waist and buried his face in her hair. He fought the urge to ask more questions about the pixies. Everyone knew changelings weren't real; they were just stories the muggles made up after bad obliviations. Then he snuck a glance at Harry. His best friend didn't look any different. Sure, the grin was there, but Harry would tell him if Ginny was pregnant, right?

"Hey Ron?" said Luna. "I've got to be back in the office early tomorrow. I've got an interview with the neighbor of that vampire that lives in Surrey. See me home?"

"Sure thing!"

As they left (promising to see Neville next time he was in London), Ginny looked at Luna and held up two fingers. Luna smiled and shook her head, then grabbed Ron's waist and apparated them to the Lovegoods. Apparition was becoming Ron's favorite way of travelling with Luna.

"What was that about?" he asked when they landed on the porch.

"Oh, just something Ginny was saying her teammates told her awhile back."

Something clicked in Ron's head. "Does this have anything to do with what you asked me earlier? About how many dates we've had?" The question had been odd, but so were most of Luna's questions.

"Yes, actually." She unlocked the door and went to heat up the kettle.

"Care to fill me in?" Ron called as he settled on the couch. If it came from his sister, who knows what they'd been talking about. Ginny was all over the place lately.

Luna tapped the kettle with her wand and summoned some tea from the shelf. "Oh, a few months ago she told me about the third date rule, so I asked her about it again tonight."

"Third date rule?"

"Yes, if you sleep with a guy before the third date you're a slag, but if you wait much longer you're a prude," she said, handing him a cup of tea.

Ron nearly dropped it. "Pardon?" He blinked a few times and Luna looked at him with concern. "This is what girls talk about in the bathroom?"

"She owled me about it the first time."

"So if tonight were our third date…"

"I'd probably think about sleeping with you."

Ron's eyebrows shot up. Of course he'd thought about it…their first date ended in some intense snogging. So had Sunday dinner after he'd seen her home. And of course he'd been hoping for more of the same tonight. But…

"Uh…I don't expect…you don't have to do anything you don't want to. Like, I'm not going to think you're a prude if you don't want to after three dates."

Luna stared back at him, as if thinking. "Oh, I was disappointed that this was only our second date."

Ron found himself trying to process what she'd said. "I also won't think you're a slag if you break whatever barmy rules my sister tells you about."

Luna laughed at the change in Ron's demeanor, then drank her tea while staring into the fire. After a few sips, she leaned her head on his shoulder. Ron wasn't sure what conversation they'd just had. He gulped his tea down as he contemplated things, but Luna continued to sip her tea calmly, snuggled into his side.

When she finished her tea, she set her teacup on the table and sat almost in Ron's lap. His breath came faster and he searched for something, anything to say to break the silence.

"Does my sister always try to tell you how to live your life? Have you seen the girls on her team? Most of them couldn't find a bloke to date at an all-boys school," Ron said.

At the same moment, Luna started, "You mean it when you say you wouldn't think I'm easy? I'm not sure why people get hung up on—"

The pair laughed and Luna scooted somehow closer to Ron, her breath tickling his neck.

"We can consider Christmas Eve a date…" Ron whispered in her ear.

"Yeah?" she said, her voice barely audible.

"Or New Years. But that would be the worst date ever."

He caught Luna's smile from the corner of his eye. "Or we can ignore Ginny," she said, looking up at him through her blonde eyelashes.

"Or we can stop talking about my sister altogether."

When their lips met, it was as if a dam burst within Ron. Only two weeks ago he'd thought of Luna as a friend (well, more of a friend of his sister), and at some point between then and now he'd fallen for her. She was still a bit nutty, for sure. But Ron was jumping into this with both feet.

Their kissing soon became more frantic, and Luna led him up the spiral staircase to her room.

* * *

 **Sorry guys, it's still a T rating. ;)**

 **I've had some awesome reviewers lately! Thanks for the heads up on the grammar/typo issues. When I go back through everything after I finish, I'll probably fix most of that stuff. And I totally agree that Ron needs to be funnier. I'm struggling with his brand of humor!**

 **There's one big thing I feel like I need to defend/explain: Luna's characterization. In cannon, we knew 14-16-year-old Luna, and in this story she's older and has been through a lot. She's seen war, she's travelled the world, and she's probably a bit lonely. Plus, as we've seen from the start, Ginny is trying to "help" her be more "normal." I saw Luna as a smart girl who struggles socially. I feel like she might explore different ways of interacting with people, and incorporate the ones that work, as if it were a project or experiment. She's still an individual. In fact, that's why the arithmancy scene was in there. It wasn't to show her super-academic prowess (let's pretend Hermione looked over her work and corrected some stuff), but to show that when she's curious about something, she's SUPER into it, to the point where she ignores everything else until she figures it out. So I do understand why she feels OOC sometimes here, but please trust me that there's usually a purpose to it. I just need to work on being better at communicating that purpose!**


	12. Kneazle Trouble

**Late January 2003**

Within a couple of weeks, Ron and Angelina managed (with the help of Luna's calculations and Hermione's corrections) to test all the remaining snackboxes. As Ron took the antidote to the Puking Pastille's, Angelina scanned him again with her wand.

"Looks like this is it! It'll take Madam Pomphrey a few years to catch up to us." Angelina looked at the clock, then the front of the shop. It was empty. The week had been quiet with students back at Hogwart's and a lot of wizards still on holiday. George hummed under his breath as he counted down the drawers and tossed a few galleons in the sack for Gringott's.

"You want tomorrow off? I didn't think we'd be done so quickly. Besides, I reckon you'll be here a bunch once the baby comes." Angelina rubbed her bulging stomach. She was due in May, just after Fleur.

"You sure you don't need to go rest or…whatever?" Even though he'd survived Fleur and Audrey's pregnancies, Ron was uncomfortable around the whole situation. Being face to face with Angelina had proven to be extra awkward.

"I'm pregnant, not an invalid."

"In that case," Ron poked his head through the doorway to the front, "hey George! You're on your own tomorrow, your wife gave me the day off!"

George muttered an agreement.

"We're still hiring more help before the baby comes," Ron added.

George muttered something about Loony girlfriends and waved Ron toward the floo.

Ron looked out the window to Luna's office. The lights were off. The Quibbler wasn't due out for a few days, so she'd probably gone home early. It was something he'd found himself doing often: seeking Luna out. They'd caught some lunches, spent a few evenings together, but between WWW and the Quibbler, their moments had been few and far between. So, after looking at the clock, and contemplating whether he should visit unannounced, he sighed and stepped through to the Burrow.

Instead, he grabbed some parchment in the kitchen and jotted off a few lines to Luna. He tied the parchment to Pigwigeon's leg before heading to bed.

 _Luna,_

 _Done with the snackboxes! Angelina says thanks, and they gave me the day off tomorrow…want some company?_

 _Ron_

He collapsed into bed and slept deeply, excited to see Luna. Around 3 o'clock in the morning, Pig tapped frantically (as usual) at the window and offered his leg, then scampered back out into the night.

 _Ron,_

 _Of course. Just floo over when you feel up to it. I'm working on a project, so I'll be around all day. If you can get ahold of him, please bring Crookshanks, too._

 _Luna_

Ron blinked the sleep from his eyes and tried to shake the cobwebs from his head. _Crookshanks? What the bloody hell does she want with him?_ Ron went back to sleep, trying not to think too hard about whatever new "project" Luna had devised.

As Ron bolted down his breakfast, his mum fussed over him. "Ron, it's your day off, don't rush off so quickly. What could you have planned anyway?"

"I'm headed over to Luna's…" he mumbled into his toast. Arthur pulled his paper down a few inches to glance at his youngest son.

Molly stopped her bustling to look at him, hands on her hips. "And what do you have planned? You could always stay around here. I'd love to see Luna!"

Arthur's eyes sparkled and he raised his eyebrows at Ron.

"Mum, uh, I think she already has something planned. She said something about a project and tracking down Crookshanks…"

"Crookshanks?" Molly looked at him, confused. "Hermione's cat?"

Arthur's paper shook as he covered his face again.

"I don't know, mum. You know how Luna is. It's probably something barmy."

"Hmph." Molly went back to doing the dishes. "Well, I'll send you over with a hamper of sandwiches. Poor dear looks like she doesn't eat. If I could give Xeno a piece of my mind, sending her back here to live on her own…"

After breakfast, Ron dressed and flooed over to Luna's. It was a bit early, but she did say to stop by "whenever…"

When he stepped out of the floo into Luna's house, he was startled by the state of the room. It was a disaster. Bits of parchment and quill littered the floor, and books were stacked in odd places. Luna was much more orderly most of the time. There was a pile of blankets on the couch, and remains of takeaway containers on the table. It was also eerily quiet.

"Luna?" he asked, pulling his wand out. Something wasn't right. "Luna?" he said a bit louder, becoming more concerned.

The jumble of blankets on the couch stirred, and a blonde head popped out of them. Luna blinked a few times, then smoothed her hair down a bit.

"Ron!" she looked around his feet. "Crookshanks?"

"Crookshanks lives with Hermione. And is a menace. It's nice to see you, too."

"Whyever is your wand out?"

"Because the place is a disaster and you were nowhere to be found. Got a little nervous. Is everything okay?" He glanced around again.

"Oh, this…" she said, waving her wand and muttering. The papers stacked themselves neatly, the quills jumped back into the desk, and the books flew back to the shelf. "I'm working on a project."

Ron sat down on the free end of the couch. "And you needed the cat?"

"Half-Kneazle," she corrected, re-arranging the blankets and settling closer to Ron. "Seamus mentioned that Ireland was having a problem with feral Kneazles, so naturally I thought about what happened in Bulgaria in 1524."

"Naturally."

"So then I came to realize that it's likely that Ireland has formed its own magical government, in an effort toward separatism."

Unsure of how to respond, Ron defaulted to agreement. "Naturally."

"Which means no one is properly monitoring the Kneazle population, or else the Irish government is breeding them for their own purposes. I'd to write an article about it for the Quibbler, but to do that, I need to learn more about Kneazle reproduction."

"As one does."

"So that's why I wanted to talk to Crookshanks. He may have a new perspective."

"A new perspective?"

"Yes, on Kneazle reproduction."

"Well, Luna, when a boy Kneazle likes a girl Kneazle…"

Luna slapped him lightly on the arm and giggled. "That's not what I'm talking about. I was hoping Crookshanks knew something about mating and birthing rituals."

"He's a cat. He doesn't talk."

Luna thought about this for a minute, as if it were new information. "That does throw a pixie in the cauldron. It seemed like a good idea at 3 in the morning."

Ron glanced around the room again. "How much sleep did you get last night?"

"I drifted off around six when I got frustrated. For things to be happening the way I think, the Irish government has been undercover since at least 1975. So where were they during the wars? And how do you explain the Leprechaun behavior in 1992? It was a disaster."

Ron patted her on the arm. "Um, why don't I come back later? I think you could use a few more hours sleep."

"I could. But you could stay."

"And do what?"

She gestured to the bookcases that lined the walls. "Read? Play chess? Or you could always have a kip with me? Ginny says you can sleep just about anywhere and anytime." She looked up at him hopefully.

Ron smiled back. He _could_ kip just about any time. So the pair snuggled up on the couch, Luna spooned against Ron's chest. His hand drifted over her soft skin and found the curve of her hip. Ron drifted off thinking about how perfectly she fit, their legs tangled together under the blankets.

A few hours later, he awoke to the sound of the floo activating. By instinct, he grabbed for his wand before whispering, "who's there?"

"Oh, gross," said his sister's voice said from the fire. "Please tell me you're wearing clothes."

"Yes we're wearing clothes," Ron hissed. "What d'you want?"

"Luna send Badius over last night…something about Crookshanks. I wanted to figure out what she wanted."

Ron looked down at his girlfriend and shook her arm a bit. "Luna, Ginny wants to talk."

She turned over, burying her face in his chest, talking incoherently.

"Luna." He shook her arm a bit again.

"She's almost impossible to wake up," supplied Ginny, looking annoyed. "Once she fell asleep in the library and I had to _augumeti_ her awake."

"But you can't cross-breed them with foxes..." Luna mumbled into Ron's chest. His arm was trapped underneath her.

"Oh for Merlin's sake," Ginny said, "hold on a minute..." and her head withdrew. A moment later she stepped through.

Ginny marched right over to the couch and let loose a stream of water from her wand.

"Hey!" Ron yelled, grabbing at his own wand. But Luna woke at that moment, shooting up so quickly that she knocked it out of his hand and it rolled under the couch.

"Hi, Ginny!" she said brightly, as if her hair wasn't stuck to the side of her head and her blankets weren't soaked. "It's pleasant to see you today!"

Ron grabbed his sister's wand to summon his own, muttering under his breath, then dried himself and Luna off. She didn't seem aware of any of this.

"So you sent me a note last night..." Ginny began, as Ron settled back next to Luna, his arm around her.

"Yes, I wanted to know if you or Harry could get ahold of Crookshanks for me. For the Quibbler."

Ron shut his eyes for a moment. _Don't ask, don't ask, don't ask_ he willed his sister.

She didn't get the message. "For what? And why couldn't you just owl Hermione?"

"Well, I'm curious about Kneazle mating hab-"

Ron interrupted her, rather than continue the morning's discussion. "She's scared of Hermione." A bit louder he said, "let me solve this once and for all." He sent his patronus off toward Hermione with the message, "Luna wants to interview Crookshanks for the Quibbler. Can you bring him by the Lovegood's tonight?"

While they waited for a reply, Ron went off to find the lunch hamper. "My mum thinks you're starving," he said to Luna as he handed her a sandwich.

"Oh, that's just because I don't cook."

Ron's eyes widened and he opened his mouth just as a stag burst through the wall. Harry's voice, barely audible through his laughter, came from the patronus: "we were in the employee cafeteria when we got that. Hermione will respond when she recovers."

"What's funny?" Luna asked. Ron patted her shoulder a few times, trying to find a response.

Ginny appeared to have gotten ahold of herself (she'd been staring pointedly at the curtains, her face tightened in an effort not to laugh). "The way Ron put it, it sounded like you wanted quotes from a cat for the Quibbler or something…"

"Half-Kneazle," Luna corrected, taking a bite of her sandwich.

An otter bounded into the room, and Hermione's voice came out. "Luna dear," she said, her voice carefully controlled, "Crookshanks doesn't like the floo, but you're welcome to come over around 6 tonight if you'd like to visit with him."

"Bets on whether Seamus just witnessed all that?" Ginny asked the pair. Ron bit the inside of his lip to keep from laughing. If Seamus knew... Ron was pretty sure he'd never hear the end of it.

"Oh, I do hope so. He can give me some good insight about the shadow government operating in Ireland."

Ginny opened her mouth to ask a question. Ron shook his head a little. She shut it, and looked back and forth between them while she finished her sandwich. "Well, I should get going…"

"Nice seeing you today, Ginny! Are we still on for tomorrow?"

Ron had been hoping the girls forgot. Until today he'd managed to avoid Ginny as much as possible, but somehow he and Harry had been wrangled into a double date.

"Of course, Luna." She grabbed for some floo powder and yelled out "Grimmauld Place!" before being swept away in the flames.

Luna went back to her sandwich, staring off into space while she chewed. Ron, who'd already finished two, contemplated eating another, if only to avoid hearing more about Kneazles. He watched Luna chew as she looked at nothing, occasionally nodding to herself. Ron tidied up the room a bit, stealing glances back at her and wondering when she'd come back to her senses.

With nothing left to tidy, his mind began to wander to places he didn't want it to go. Namely, he found himself wondering about his reaction to Luna's comment that she 'didn't cook'. _We've been dating for three weeks. I don't need her to cook for me. It's not like I'm proposing tomorrow, there's no reason to feel so disappointed._ Rather than allow himself to continue down that path, he cleared his throat. She looked to him with a smile. "Hi, Ronald!"

"Hi, yourself. You left for a few minutes."

"Oh, I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

Luna giggled. "We never just think about one thing at a time, Ron."

"Speak for yourself."

"Maybe you just aren't aware of what you're thinking." Ron thought about that for a minute, pretty sure that he'd notice if he thought about a bunch of things at once. Luna continued, "I was thinking about the Kneazle problem and Ireland. But I was also wondering in the corner of my mind how Ginny's doing, because she's been owling Hermione more lately. Then another part of my mind was thinking about visiting Hermione tonight, and how I know she's not mad or jealous, but she can be a bit inflexible and has a temper and I'd not like to be on her bad side. Finally, I was thinking about how happy I am that you're helping me research for this article." She smiled brightly at him and kissed his cheek.

"So what were you thinking about?" she asked, as she burrowed into his side.

He tried to stop the thoughts of who could or could not cook. "Uh…"

She sat up and her silvery-blue eyes burned into his. "What's wrong?"

 _It's like she's a bloody legilimens…_ "Nothing's wrong, I was just wondering about something you said earlier."

"About the Kneazles?"

"No, about cooking."

"Oh, that. Your mum worries because she knows I don't cook. Don't tell Hermione, but we always had a house elf."

Ron's eyes widened, as if Hermione would spring from the shadows and hex them all. Anyway, the Lovegoods didn't seem like the house-elf type.

"Mum's family was old-fashioned pureblood. When my grandparents died, before I was born, Dotty came to live here. But she died while I was at Hogwarts." She looked back at Ron. "Don't look at me like that! We treated her quite well. She had a little room in the attic and never wanted for anything. There was a long time when she was my best friend. It was better than selling her to the Malfoys or something! And I don't suppose she would have wanted clothes. People and creatures are the same; they're much more comfortable with what they know. Anything new seems like a disaster."

"So then who cooked after that?

"Well, my dad and I muddled on. He got quite good at a few things. Fish. We ate a lot of fruit and bread and the like…"

Ron tried to imagine a home without the smell of mince pie from the oven, or treacle tart for dessert. Heck, his mum's treacle tart was probably why Harry stuck around all those years. "So you never learned to cook? Or never wanted to?"

"Oh, I'm terrible at it! I tried for awhile, even tried approaching it like potions, but everything turns out like cardboard or hard as a rock. Hagrid's probably a better cook than I." She looked at Ron's dumbstruck expression. "Why would you assume I could?"

"Because you're a gi – a –" Luna raised her eyebrows as he stuttered. "A person who lives alone," he finished, hoping they could change the subject.

"You're a person who used to live alone. Can you cook?" Her eyes were piercing and her tone serious.

Ron thought over his days living alone. "Well, I got takeaway a lot, or ate at my mum's. I can pull off bacon and eggs. Toast. So not really." Luna's response hit him. "Oh…sorry…I just…"

She settled back against him. "Put your foot in your mouth?"

At 6:00, the pair flooed to Hermione's to talk to Crookshanks. Luna seemed much more interested in the cat than in greeting Hermione, and she quickly scooped him up and took him to the guest room. To his credit, Crookshanks seemed to relish Luna's attention, and began purring as soon as she picked him up.

This left Ron and Hermione alone in the sitting room, on opposite armchairs. While they were generally OK in one another's company, they were rarely alone together. Let alone with Ron's new girlfriend in the other room, interviewing a cat for a newspaper.

"So what are you doing here, anyway?" Hermione asked after a few moments of awkward small talk. "She could have come by herself."

Ron straightened up. "I'm being supportive, if you must know."

A smile twitched at the corner of Hermione's mouth. "So this is your life now? Interviewing cats and the like? Will you be going on a hunt for the Snorkack soon?"

"I don't – I don't know." Ron flopped back down on the chair, then tossed his legs over the armrest. He tilted his head back to look at the bedroom door, then cast a muffliato in that direction. "Look, I think I'm having second thoughts…I mean, the whole thing is mad."

Hermione continued to look amused. "You knew she was barmy eight years ago when you met her. It can't be a surprise. You're dense sometimes, but not that dense."

"No, not that…" Ron tried to think of a way to explain himself that wouldn't get him hexed. Hermione had much more of a temper than Luna. "She can't cook. Hermione, how can we have a relationship if she can't cook? You can at least muddle through and make something edible, given the right conditions, but she said she's worse than Hagrid!"

Hermione bit her lip to keep from laughing. "And what about Luna would lead you to think that she had any ability or placed any value on something normal?"

"Well, she's a girl…I just assumed." As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it.

"RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY," Hermione yelled, and leapt to her feet. She smacked him a few times with a throw pillow. "You are the most insensitive prat I've ever met. Don't tell me you _said_ that to her!"

"I might've implied…"

Hermione smacked him again, just as Crookshanks shot back through the room and began winding through Hermione's legs. Luna followed, looking unperturbed but lightly batting around her head. "The buzzing," she murmured, and Hermione cancelled the muffliato.

Luna's gaze settled on Ron. "What'd he do?" she asked cheerfully.

"Told me some of his thoughts on cooking and its connection to gender."

"He who assumes…" Luna said, trailing off.

Hermione finished, "makes an ass of you and me? Isn't that how the saying goes?"

"Hmm? I suppose that would work. I always say, 'he who assumes has very little imagination,' but your way works better. Although I don't think Ron's making an ass out of you and I. Only himself."

Hermione nodded in agreement while Ron continued to cower on the couch. "Done with Crookshanks?" she asked.

"Yes, he doesn't seem to be very talkative tonight. I may need to find a full Kneazle. Thank you so much for your help!"

"You're welcome, Luna." She fidgeted a bit. "So, I just wanted to apologize on behalf of Bran for…New Year's…I know it's been a few weeks, but I feel so bad about the whole thing."

Luna waved her off. "Forgiven and forgotten. You're not responsible for his behavior."

"Thank you," Hermione replied. "There was something I wanted to ask you guys, too. And I couldn't ask with Harry around…um…is Ginny doing OK? She came over the other night pretty upset, and all I could get out of her was that she didn't like the bridesmaid dresses that Hannah picked out. And last week Harry beat her at chess and she nearly threw the board across the room."

Luna and Ron shared a Look. Of course Hermione would pick up on Ginny's moods. And make it her business. He gestured in Luna's direction. Luna looked back at him, as if she didn't understand. After a few back-and-forth, raised eyebrows and emphatic gestures, Ron gave in. "Luna has theories, but nothing that's ours to share. I'm sure she'll be fine. 'Course, I believe she's just crazy. Should ship her off to Mungo's to keep everyone safe."

Luna glared at him.

"Or slip her a calming draught?" he said weakly. Now Hermione was glaring at him. "What?"

"Just because she's your sister doesn't mean she's not our friend," said Hermione. "And you, of all people, should know how awful it is to potion people against their will. Remember Romilda Vane?"

Ron looked at the pair. Hermione, her hand on her wand. She was at the end of her fuse. Luna appeared much more serene, but her eyes were steely. While she wouldn't hex him (he didn't think), he certainly didn't want to be on the bad end of her mood. She could cut to the core in the right circumstances. _Perfect. My ex-girlfriend and current girlfriend, two of the most powerful witches I know, are ganging up on me_.

"I think I should go home…" he choked out.

"Before you say something else stupid?" asked Hermione.

"Probably."

"Will you see me home first?" asked Luna. "You'll need to get the hamper back to your mum."

They flooed back to Luna's, and she handed him the hamper before kissing him goodbye. Then her eyes burned into his. "It frightens you, doesn't it?"

"What? Hermione?"

"No, the cooking thing."

He tried to figure out what Luna was getting at. "Why would it frighten me that you can't cook?"

She smiled at him. "It's not the cooking that frightens you. It's your reaction to it. If you're disappointed, that means your mind is thinking of the future. And that's what frightens you." She squeezed his hand once. "You should go."

Ron didn't sleep quite as well that night.


	13. Ginny Eats Pasta

**Late January, 2003**

Saturday night Ron finished up around the shop just before he was to meet up with Luna, Harry and Ginny. He wasn't sure annoyed him more: Ginny's erratic behavior, or Luna's insistence that he saw a future with her, and was somehow unnerved by that.

 _I like to eat. Therefore, I'd prefer to be with someone who likes to cook. That's it. There's nothing bigger behind it. We've been together for three bloody weeks; I'm certainly not thinking that far ahead._

After all, Ron had never been much for thinking ahead.

 _That would be mad. This is just a fun…_ he thought of her laughing in the firelight, and her bravery in the face of all that she'd been through. _Nope, definitely don't love with her or anything. Just a crush and a fun distraction._

He flooed back to The Burrow to grab a change of clothes and wait for the others. Ginny's coat was hung over a kitchen chair and the door to her room was ajar. _Great, she's early. Wonder if she'll freak out at me again today._ He tiptoed across the landing, hoping that she wouldn't hear. Then he could just wait until Harry or Luna got there as a buffer. But as he passed her door, he heard muffled sobs.

Ron let out a long breath. No one else was home…should he check on her, or keep tiptoeing past? "Ugh," he muttered as he made up his mind. "Might as well risk my neck. She _is_ my little sister."

So he tapped on her door a few times. "Ginny? Everything OK?"

Ginny jumped up from the bed, spilling photo albums and scrapbooks around herself with a little yelp. "Sorry, just cleaning some things out for mum…" She said as she began gathering things up, shoving them in a sack. When she turned around, she looked surprised to find Ron there. "What?!"

"You're upset. Mum's at Bill's all weekend, so I guess I'm stuck dealing with you."

With a mocking tone, she replied, "thanks, Ron. You're the best." Ginny pushed past him toward the bathroom. "Let's just get through dinner."

Ron grabbed her arm (her wand arm, mind you, he didn't want to get hexed). "Wait, Ginny…uh, is everything okay? Dinner was _your_ idea, after all."

She glared at him and yanked her arm away. "I'm fine. I just need to wash my face." And she slammed the door in his face.

Ron ran up to his room to change, and when he came back down, the door was still closed. He knocked.

"Piss off, Ron."

"That's the thing, Ginny. We only have one bathroom. And I'm not going outside."

She flung the door open, tears still in her eyes. "Fine."

But when he stepped out of the bathroom, she was sitting on the landing, thumbing through an old scrapbook, still crying. He stood next to her and raised a hand to pat her on the back. Then lowered it. He wasn't a fool. Instead, he leaned in to look at the scrapbook.

On one page was a young – maybe twelve or thirteen-year-old – Ginny, sitting alone in the library, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she studied. On the next, she was sandwiched between the twins on the common room couch, a scowl on her face. They took turns poking at her sides. The picture next to that was from the same day, Ginny sitting a few seats away from Ron, Hermione and Harry at the Gryffindor table, looking slightly lost and forlorn.

She turned the page, as if she didn't notice him there. The next page showed Ginny and Luna, heads bent together in the Charms classroom, giggling while Flitwick shook his head. In another picture, Colin threw his arm over Ginny's shoulders while she shrank away a bit, then gave in and smiled for the camera.

"Luna took that one," Ginny said, acknowledging Ron's presence.

"You made this?"

"No, Colin did. He gave it to me Christmas my second year…everyone knew what happened my first year. No one would talk to me but Luna and Colin, and he thought it would cheer me up."

"Nice of him."

"Yeah, well, the whole second half is pictures of Harry." She ran her fingers over the picture of her and Colin. "He was so determined to be my friend, even though I was okay with just Luna." She sniffled again and turned the page. On this one, she sat in the Quidditch stands with Fred, who was waving his arms wildly. "He was explaining to me how to play. I let him think I didn't know so he wouldn't tell mum I'd been nicking his broom."

"So did the album cheer you up?"

"It did. And Colin ate lunch with me and talked to me in Transfiguration, and eventually I made more friends. He was a good guy." Tears shown in her eyes.

They sat quietly for a minute. "You miss him," Ron said, uncomfortable in the silence. "Is that what's been bugging you lately?"

Ginny let out a loud sob. "I can't help it…every time I do something like graduate or get married or—or- I just can't stop thinking. They didn't get to. Fred didn't get to, Colin didn't get to. Why should I? And then I get mad at Harry and you for not letting me help in the war…"

"We just wanted to keep you safe."

She snorted. "Yeah, safe. Safe to get Crucio'd and watch my friend get kidnapped and not know where my boyfriend or my brother or Hermione was for months on end."

"Technically he wasn't your boyfriend at the time."

She glared at him, her eyes red-rimmed. "Shove it, Ron. You know what I mean. And why did everyone want to keep me safe? And not Hermione or Colin or Dean…"

Ron sat down on the step next to her. "We were wrong, you know? We just did what we thought was best. You were underage…"

"But no one asked me. Everyone just made choices for me, like I was a _child_ , to keep me safe, and you know what? I had to go along with it. And it didn't keep me safe. I mean, at the end of it all I was alive and uninjured, but I couldn't grieve, Ron. Harry needed me. Mum needed me. George, you, Hermione, Dean, even Bill."

Ron cleared his throat, which had a suspicious lump. "Ginny, you just had to say the word. We would have figured it out."

"For a long time I could do it. I could calm myself down and remind myself that, as bad as it is, it could be worse. I was tortured, but Luna was kidnapped. I was sad, but Mum was barely functioning. Harry…Harry _died_ , Ron…"

"I'm aware." The lump was bigger and tears pressed at the backs of his eyes. He didn't dare close them. In moments like this, if he closed his eyes he'd see Harry's body, sprawled out at Voldemort's feet.

"And I miss Fred and Colin, but George and Dennis…they're worse off. Colin was one of my best friends, but Dennis was his brother. And Fred was my brother, but George was his twin…And sometimes this horrible person inside me comes out and wishes I had some kind of claim to grief…like I could be the one that people took care of and owled to check on. And I'm a terrible person…

Ron risked losing his hand and gingerly patted her on the back. "That's…messed up, Gin."

She didn't' seem to have heard him. "Even if Harry had died, everyone would have focused on you and Hermione." Ginny burst into fresh sobs.

Ron was frozen with panic. He considered finding his mum or Luna or _someone_.

Then Ginny said in a childlike voice, "Luna was the only one…"

"The only one what?"

"The only one who owled and cared asked me how I was doing. Everyone else ignored me or asked how you or Mum or Harry was."

"Oh."

"And then she left...her dad made her leave England and she couldn't even come back for my wedding. We wrote, but it wasn't the same. But when Luna came back, a little part of me hoped I'd get my chance to grieve. I didn't expect her to dote on me or anything, but Luna's always been _my_ friend. I didn't have to share her. I could tell her my awful thoughts and horrible feelings and she'd just listen and offer some weird explanation, and the world would make sense again."

Ron tried again to swallow around the lump, but it was stuck. "I didn't mean to…" No other words would come.

"And do you know how much the past year sucked for me, Ron?" Ginny's sobbing had turned to a strange hybrid of sadness and anger. "First, I'm an alternate for the World Cup team. An alternate. I lost out to _Luanne Schubert_. She couldn't hit the hoop if it was up her arse. Then, we go to Bulgaria and I have to spend the whole time with the Bulgarian alternates, AKA, the Fleur Delecour-Weasley fan club. Apparently she's spent the past 9 years as some sort of mythical pin-up girl over there. _Then_ , I get back here and find that you've quit your job and need to be coddled some more."

"In my defense, I never asked you to coddle me. Mum does it enough as it is."

"So then, Harry was all worried about you and missing you at work, and I had to hear him whine like a lovesick school girl."

"Not my fault he's questionable." Ron's tried to keep the annoyed edge out of his voice. His sister's problems weren't _his_ fault.

"Then you start stealing my friend, writing her all the time and rescuing her and I find the two of you cuddled up on the couch on Christmas morning."

"Look," Ron said, standing up to go downstairs, "I'm sorry I 'stole' your friend. I didn't mean to. And you thought it was funny at the time, until you turned into some sort of lunatic."

Tears started bubbling in Ginny's eyes again. "I didn't know what was wrong with me, I was just so angry and upset, and thinking about everything made it worse. I spent days and days feeling like I could explode or sob at any moment. You were just the easiest person to be mad at until...until I figured it out."

"That you're pregnant?"

The Burrow had never been as silent as it was in that moment. Ginny's mouth fell open and her eyes burned with tears and rage. "He told you? He _told_ you? I don't care if Voldemort couldn't do it, I'm going to find him and murder him."

"What?" Ron panicked, the gears turning in his head. "No! No, Harry didn't tell me. Luna figured it out a few weeks ago."

Ginny visibly deflated, slumping down and leaning against the wall. "Oh. Of course she did. And of course she told you."

"Don't kill Harry. Please."

"Then should I pick you or Luna?" Ginny's face reddened again with anger.

"Neither?" Ron was a bit terrified of his sister in that moment. He searched the room for her wand, hoping to grab it before she started hexing. _But_ _Ginny's not stupid, she's got it on her somewhere_. The floo roared to life below them and Ron felt a flood of relief. _At least there will be a witness._

"Ron?" Luna's head appeared around the corner as she began climbing the stairs.

She stopped short when she saw the Weasley siblings on the landing. Ginny's eyes were red and her jaw was set, and Ron was cowering away from her.

"Oh," said Luna as she stared at them. She glanced back and forth, as if deciding whose side to pick, or who to comfort first.

 _Pick Ginny, pick Ginny,_ Ron thought desperately. Ginny probably wouldn't kill Luna. Probably. But she'd definitely kill him, and maybe Harry. Actually, Harry was surely on his way by now, and should be warned or something. No one likes an ambush.

Luna laid a hand on Ron's shoulder as she passed him, and kissed his cheek. "We'll be back!" she said cheerfully, and she slung her arm through Ginny's and led her into her bedroom. Ginny sent a dirty look back Ron's way.

Ron let go of the breath he was holding and leaned his head against the wall. There were only a few people in the world he was afraid of: his mum, Ginny, and Hermione were on that list. Only when they were angry, mind you. Through the thin walls, he could hear the murmur of voices. They didn't sound _too_ angry. But still a little angry.

Ron crept down the stairs and pulled out his wand.

 _"My sister's bloody crazy, mate. Luna's calming her down, but you should get here soon. Wear one of those cricket cup things Dean mentioned."_ Then Ron send the patronus off to Harry at work.

Ron sat to eat a sandwich, and a few minutes later Harry stepped out of the floo, looking frazzled. "Hey, mate. I was on my way out anyway, so I came straight here. Is Ginny okay?"

"Yeah, she's up in her room with Luna...uh…I don't know how long they'll be."

Harry sat down and leaned his head in his hands. "What set her off this time?"

Ron wasn't quite sure how to broach the subject. "Well, I got here and she was already upset, looking at some old scrapbooks."

"She mentioned grabbing a few of those while she was here tonight."

"Well, you know how she gets if I'm around when she's upset"

Harry nodded and grabbed a corner of Ron's sandwich. "So did you say anything stupid to make it worse?"

"Well…I…" Ron reckoned he might as well come out with it. He took a deep breath. "I may have let it slip that Luna figured out about the baby."

"The baby?" Harry looked panicked. "What…baby?"

"She confirmed it mate. Then threatened to kill you, me and Luna. But Luna figured out weeks ago that she's pregnant." He looked at Harry and raised his eyebrows.

A grin spread over Harry's face. "Thank Merlin. I'm tired of keeping it a secret. She's just been so…."

"Crazy?"

"Unpredictable." Harry summoned himself a Butterbeer and opened it. "I want to be excited, but when I mention it, I never know what I'm going to get. And she refuses to talk about it. At. All. She won't even tell your mum."

"It? Is that what you're calling the baby?" Ron raised his own Butterbeer in Harry's direction. "Congratulations then, by the way."

Harry smiled. "Since your parents are still around, I'd love to name the baby after mine. James for a boy, Lily for a girl."

"But Ginny won't talk about it?"

"I think she's in denial. She has to report to the Harpies in two weeks and she's planning like she's going back to the team. The Healer said Professional Quidditch is too risky during a pregnancy, but Ginny hasn't even owled Gwenog."

"Well, Harry, I'm sorry you haven't noticed this yet, but you married a crazy person."

"Rich, coming from you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Harry raised an eyebrow and pointed to the rack in the hallway. Luna had hung her cloak there, and topped it with a Ravenclaw blue, McGonagall-style pointed hat. An animated bronze eagle swooped around the top, "caw-ing" occasionally.

Ron huffed. "I'm not married to her! Just dating. You went and made it permanent with my sister."

Harry had to acquiesce to that one.

A few minutes later, the girls came downstairs. Ginny looked calmer, and chirped, "okay, let's go!" in Ron and Harry's direction. The boys shared a look.

"Shouldn't we talk about this?" Ron asked, raising his eyebrows at his sister.

She huffed. "Fine. I'm pregnant, and it makes me crazy. We're going to a muggle restaurant where I can eat two tons of pasta and no one will ask me or Harry for an autograph. I'm not mad at you or Luna, but we're not going to talk about anything else. That cover it?" Ginny crossed her arms, and Luna stroked her shoulder a few times.

"Just about," Ron replied, not willing to press the issue more, "which Muggle restaurant?"

Harry and Ginny shared a look. "The Italian one by Mungo's," Harry said. "We figured we'd apparate into the alley by the phone booth."

Luna and Ron nodded, and Luna went to don her cloak and hat.

"Muggle restaurant…" Ginny reminded her.

Luna looked up and down her outfit, puzzled. "What should I change?"

Ginny replied, "the hat. The cloak. Maybe the necklace…" Luna was wearing butterbeer corks.

Luna blinked a few times. "Why?"

Harry gave Ron a pointed look at the question.

Instead of arguing, Ginny transformed the cloak to a muggle overcoat, the hat into a stocking cap (as it had begun snowing again), and the butterbeer corks into pendants. "Better," she said, then looked to Ron and flicked her wand at his cloak as well. She and Harry already had muggle overcoats.

Ron double checked that Luna was wearing shoes.

Luna wrapped her arms around Ron's waist and apparated them to the alley, followed shortly by Harry and Ginny. Ron wrapped an arm around Luna's shoulders as they walked, trying to blend into Muggle London. Ginny and Harry led the way, holding hands and whispering.

Once they'd been seated at the restaurant, Ginny dug into the bread and olive oil. She seemed to forget that anyone else was sitting with her in the dimly lit dining room.

"Ginny," Ron stage-whispered across the table, "save some for the rest of us."

Harry's eyes widened and he shook his head a few times. Ginny fixed Ron in her gaze. The candle on the table reflected in her eyes, making them glow in a somewhat frightening way.

"Your funeral," Harry muttered, suddenly absorbed in his drink. Luna watched the siblings with mild interest, occasionally distracted by a passing muggles.

"Say it again, Ron," Ginny said, her voice low and even.

"I'm kidding," he said, panic rising as he stared across the table at her, wishing he'd sat across from Harry instead. "I'm _kidding_ ," he repeated.

"Not a good joke," she said, still staring at him. "You're lucky we're not at the Leaky. And that muggles look askance at tiny bats in your nose."

Ron swallowed hard.

"Why do they all keep talking into those little boxes?" Luna broke in, trying to change the subject. She gestured toward a woman at the next table, murmuring into a small electronic.

"Cell phones…like talking mirrors but not magical," Harry explained, happy for the distraction. So happy, in fact, that he explained cell phones and their various uses until the waiter came to take their orders.

Ron bit his tongue when Ginny ordered an appetizer _and_ entrée, with no hint of sharing. As the waiter retreated to the kitchen, Harry avoided Ron's gaze, stealing glances at his wife as she shoveled down more bread. Luna stared at a man who had pulled out a tiny computer. She looked as if she were about to rise and interrogate him about it, so Ron put a hand on her leg, holding her there.

As if surprised to see everyone, Luna blinked at them a few times, then cocked her head to the side. "How far along are you, Ginny?"

Ron nudged her under the table and panic returned to Harry's eyes.

Ginny looked at Luna, and for a moment, Ron was sure she'd start hexing. Instead, her voice was quiet and unsure. "Ten weeks. I think. We're not really sure when.."

Luna thought for a moment. "So you're due at the end of August?"

"That's what the healer said. Things aren't always…regular…what with my training schedule, so they're not sure."

Ron didn't really want to know any more.

"When did you find out?" Luna asked. Harry seemed to relax a bit as Ginny willingly talked to Luna.

"Just after New Years. I was so tired all the time, so I went in. Surprise." A hint of a smile played at Ginny's mouth in spite of her sarcasm.

"Oh, it wasn't planned. How fun! Daddy always says that if a baby is a surprise, the fates surely wanted that child here for a purpose. Your baby will do great things!" Luna was quietly clapping her hands in glee.

Ginny gave her a genuine smile. "Thanks, Luna. That really means a lot."

The rest of dinner was quiet, but more relaxed. They chatted about Ministry gossip, WWW's new lines, and the latest issue of the Quibbler. During dessert, Luna asked Ginny about Quidditch. "What did Gwenog say when you told her?"

"I haven't yet," Ginny said around a mouthful of cannoli, "and we're not discussing it."

Harry closed his eyes briefly and looked as if he were counting to ten. Luna nodded.

As they made their way back to the alley by St. Mungo's, Ginny looked over to Ron. "You're staying at Grimmauld tonight, right? Mum and Dad aren't back until tomorrow."

Luna squeezed his hand and asked, "oh, where are your parents? Is this why there's no dinner tomorrow?"

"Yeah, they're staying with Victoire tonight while Bill and Fleur take a quick holiday. They'll be back Sunday night." He didn't really want to talk about why he was staying at Grimmauld.

"And Ron won't stay alone at the Burrow," chirped Ginny. Of course.

"It's creepy with no one there," he muttered. He didn't quite understand it, but he didn't want Luna thinking he was a coward, or afraid of being alone. Because he wasn't. Heck, he'd lived alone for a couple of years. It's just that the Burrow was different from his flat in London.

"I suppose when it's quiet and you're not used to it, it seems haunted by all that happened."

Ron and Ginny fell silent at Luna's words, and the four walked along lost in thought. As they passed St. Mungo's, Harry looked over at Luna. "You wanna stay, too? You can bunk with Ron or use Hermione's room if he snores too much. I could use someone else to run interference." He gestured to Ron and Ginny who were glaring at one another.

"Fun! Like a sleepover! Or like being back at Hogwarts, but with people who want me around!"

When they arrived at Grimmauld Place, Ginny set to making some tea, and the other three friends sat around the fire. Luna leaned her head on Ron's shoulder and looked to Harry. "So, Ginny seemed surprised that she was pregnant. I know it's rude to ask, but how did it happen?"

Ron thought about changing the subject, but he was equally curious. It was odd for witches and wizards to have accidental pregnancies, but he also knew that his parents had. Several times. And he'd never had the courage to ask them about it.

"Well, we use the spell, so I don't really know..." began Harry, oblivious to Ginny walking into the room behind him.

"Harry!" she chastized him, her voice hard. She set the teapot down on the table and put her hands on her hips, staring him down.

"Luna asked! I was just answering..."

Luna interrupted, "sorry, Ginny. I was curious. I realize it's not appropriate."

Ginny visibly deflated. "I'm sorry, I guess...I guess we can talk about it. I knew the spell wasn't always 100 percent—"

"It's not?!" asked Ron, his eyes widening.

Ginny shot him a dirty look, "—but it's a surprise when it happens to you."

Luna responded, "well, you have to mean it. The more a spell interferes with the roots of existence, the more it's susceptible to your feelings. Like, the Patronus hinges on your sense of joy and meaning, and the unforgiveables on your intent to hurt or control or kill, the contraceptive spell relies on your desire to not reproduce."

Ginny looked at her husband and narrowed her eyes. Harry stared back.

"You have to mean it, _Harry_ ," Ginny said coldly.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know, and you knew my feelings. If I'd known it depended on intent, I would have let you do it…" Harry stared at his teacup. "You didn't even know that, and you were raised with magic…"

"Of course, your parents probably didn't know either," Luna offered, as if the room hadn't fallen into awkward silence. "Although you'd think they'd have tried a different method after three or four children..." Ron nearly choked on his biscuit. She looked at him and patted his knee. "Don't worry Ron, I'm sure I'm using the right intent when I do the spell."

Harry disguised a chuckle with a sneeze, and Ginny was somewhere between horrified and amused.

"So _anyway_ ," Ginny continued, "it happened, and here we are."

"And we're not going to spend the rest of our lives blaming Harry, right?" asked Harry hopefully.

Ron snorted. "Good luck with that one." Ginny glared at him.


	14. Charlie comes to visit

Ron was furious. His sister _knew_ he had a hard time keeping secrets, and this one was a doozy. In the 2 weeks since she finally confirmed that she was pregnant, he'd had a hard time keeping the news in. To make matters worse, his mum suspected. She'd stare at him over breakfast or dinner, as if trying to read his soul.

The second family dinner in February was acutely awkward. Molly sat Luna, Ron, Harry and Ginny in a row across from her, and watched them eat the entire meal. She hadn't been distracted by Molly, Teddy and Victoire's antics, nor had she asked her usual intrusive questions of Angelina and Fleur. In fact, she didn't mention their pregnancies at all. Which was odd.

Everyone in the room (even Charlie, who was visiting for a few days) glanced at her nervously. That evening's dinner was the quietest Ron could remember.

Only Luna was unaffected. She ate her meal with her usual dreamy expression on her face, and chatted cheerily about Kneazles and Leprechauns.

As the pudding was served, Luna dug in and the room lapsed into silence.

"You OK, Mollywobbles?" Arthur asked. He'd been glancing at his wife all evening, as if deciding whether to ask her what was wrong.

Her voice artificially formal, Molly replied, "why thank you, Arthur for asking. You see, I'm concerned." She looked across the table at the two couples. "It seems my two youngest biological children _and_ my two youngest adopted children are keeping an important secret from me. And I intend to find out what it is."

Ron and Harry shrank back, and Ginny stared at her defiantly. Luna stared at a spot near Arthur's head, oblivious.

"Ginevra? Anything you'd like to tell me?"

"Nope."

"Ginny…" Molly said with warning.

"Just drop it, mum."

Instead, Molly turned to Harry and Ron, who were sandwiched between the girls. Ron squirmed under her gaze, and Harry flinched as Ginny poked his side.

"Boys?" She crossed her arms. Arthur stared at his pudding uncomfortably. Luna started humming a song only she knew.

"Not my problem," said Ron, looking at his sister.

Ginny glared back. "Thanks, Ron."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Keep your giant gob shut for five minutes!"

"This pudding is delicious, Molly," Luna broke in with an airy voice. "And the roast was as good as at Hogwarts!"

Arthur cleared his throat and suppressed a smile, before staring back at his pudding.

"Thank you, Luna. I'm glad someone around here appreciates my efforts."

Ginny took the momentary distraction as an opportunity to drag Harry from the table (although he still had his spoon in his hand). Ron stood to follow, almost knocking his chair over. As he struggled with it, Luna wandered past him, following Ginny upstairs.

"We're not done here!" called Molly after them.

Ron sealed the door to Ginny's room behind him, then turned to his sister and best friend. "I can't keep doing this! You don't have to live with mum, and you _know_ I can't keep a secret."

Harry shrugged and gestured toward Ginny. She looked to Luna.

"Well, I think you're past the point of worrying about a changeling," Luna said and waved her hand vaguely.

"See Gin? No changelings. You're good to go. We can all march back downstairs, tell mum about the baby, and I can go back to my usual peaceful existence."

Ron flopped on Ginny's bed and Luna curled up next to him. "Your life's not that peaceful, Ronald. Look where you work."

Harry, who had been pacing about the room looked at his wife. "I want to tell them. I want to tell _someone_ other than Ron, Luna and Gwenog."

Ginny crossed her arms and set her jaw. Ron whispered to Luna, "he may not have his bits when this is over."

"You may not either if your sister hears you."

They watched the couple stare each other down. Harry and Ginny rarely fought (as far as Ron knew). So he had no inkling of who would win.

"I just want to be excited," Harry said, facing his wife.

"Well, I just want to get my head around this first. Right now, it's happening to _me_ and only me and it's ruining everything."

Harry sighed with exasperation. "Not everything. You can go back to Quidditch next season. I'll stay home with the baby if that's what you want, or your mum can watch it. We have the space, and if you don't like Grimmauld, we can sell it and find something else. We've been over this."

"Your job is too dangerous." Ginny was grasping at straws. "I won't have my kid-" Ginny stopped, aware that she was toe-ing a line.

"Yeah, so I'll quit. Whatever you want."

"Ugh. And that's another thing. I'm tired of this "whatever you want, Ginny. I'll do what it takes, Ginny." She was doing her best Harry impression, which (to Ron) was actually pretty good. She even ran her hand through her hair like he did. "I want to know what YOU think, what YOU want."

"Fine, you know what I want? To tell everyone and be HAPPY about the situation. Not keep it a secret and mope around about it."

"Oh, like you're one to talk!"

Luna leaned in to Ron and whispered, "who do you think will win?"

"The papers say Harry's the most powerful wizard in England right now, so my Galleons are on him."

"Yes, but Ginny's…."

"Insane," supplied Ron.

"Well, I was going to say pregnant, but I guess that works, too."

They didn't notice that their arguing friends were staring at them, arms still crossed.

"We've got ears, you know," said Harry.

"And we're standing right here," added Ginny.

Just before the Potters turned their ire onto Ron and Luna, Molly's hurried footsteps were heard on the stairs and she knocked on the door.

"Ginny and Ron, I'd like you to come back downstairs. Your brother is only here for a few days, and we're going to spend some wonderful time as a family before he goes back to Romania." Her voice held an artificial sweetness. It was the kind of voice she'd used to coax him out of hiding when he was in trouble as a child. Or a 22-year-old man. It was a threat.

"In a minute, mum!" Ginny said, her voice nearly identical, dripping with sweetness. Then she turned back to Ron, lowering her voice. "Charlie leaves on the 12th. Just keep it shut until then. I'll tell them Wednesday."

"What's in it for me? I'm the one who has to live with mum."

"She'll be nice while Charlie is here. Wouldn't want to ruin his holiday. Just…please do this for me, Ron." She was almost begging.

Luna looked at Ron and nodded her head. Harry seemed to agree as well.

"Fine. But you owe me, big time."

Ginny looked to him and Luna, then smiled. She whispered something in Harry's ear and he chuckled. "Deal," she said to Ron.

The three traipsed back downstairs to to 'spend some wonderful time as a family' with Charlie.

* * *

The rest of the week with Charlie was great. Ron had idolized Charlie as a child (after all, he had the coolest job in the world to an 11-year-old). As he'd gotten older, he'd come to appreciate Charlie's rebellion as well. It cleared a path for some of the more unconventional choices of the younger Weasleys. Ron shuddered to think of what life would have been like if it had only been Head Boys Bill and Percy before the twins came long.

Charlie helped out in the shop and picked up some of Ron's chores at home. He and Luna seemed to bond over animals. Luna knew a surprising amount about dragons and dragon lore, and she and Charlie got into several lively debates about the proper ways to keep dragons on the reserve.

"Keep that one around," Charlie said as the brothers drank some butterbeers in the garden one night, under a warming charm.

"Who? Luna?"

"No, Longbottom. His herbology work will really help you get on your feet again." He opened a new bottle of butterbeer and laughed. "Of course I mean Luna. She's good for you," Charlie said as he kicked his feet up on the little stone table. "So is this a long-term thing? You and her?"

"I dunno," Ron said, looking toward the hills where Luna's house was, just over the horizon.

"What don't you know?"

"It's only been six weeks."

"So? Bill knew within a month. Percy. Hell, I'm pretty sure George knew as soon he and Angie started shagging. Remember? He went from moping about to re-opening the store in 3 days."

"You wanna be the only bachelor uncle around or something? Why do you care?"

Charlie grinned at him. "I just know a good thing when I see it. And I can tell it's different with her. You and Hermione were too…I don't know...combative. I don't think anyone was surprised when you broke up. Not even you."

Ron shrugged at him. He wasn't _wrong_. He and Luna didn't fight like he and Hermione had. But that wasn't enough for a long-term relationship, was it? They sat in the quiet for a bit, Charlie glancing at Ron periodically.

"What?"

"So when's the wedding, Ron?"

"Whenever you move back to the UK."

Charlie's laughter echoed across the garden. "The Welsh reserve is quite nice, you know…"

"She doesn't cook, okay?"

"What?"

Ron sat up and looked at him. "She doesn't cook. Can't. Won't. Whatever. And apparently the fact that this bothers me means I see a future with her, but how could I stay with her if she can't cook?"

"You could learn. Is she worth it?"

"Yeah," Ron snorted, "like I could learn to cook."

"When I first moved to the reserve, I ate nothing but tinned beans for weeks. Got sick of it, picked up a few books, and here we are. I can keep myself alive, at least. You could do the same." Charlie paused to finish his beer. "Unless this is some sort of male pride thing."

"Dad doesn't cook."

"Just in case you haven't noticed, mum won't let him near the kitchen. He could if he needed to, I'd wager."

"But I don't _need_ to," Ron insisted.

"No, but if you like her as much as I think you do, you'll eventually _want_ to."

* * *

There was only about 2 hours left until Charlie's portkey back to Romania, and Ginny _still_ hadn't said anything.

"You say something, or I will," hissed Ron when their mum was out of earshot.

Ginny huffed at him.

As the family gathered in the living room, Ron raised his eyebrows at her. Again. He wasn't joking…he was tired of keeping this secret for them. Everyone was here: Arthur and Molly; Bill, Fleur and Victoire; Charlie; Percy, Audrey and Molly; George and Angelina; Ron and Luna…

Drat, there it was again. No one questioned Luna's presence, not even him. Granted, the Weasleys had always been welcoming. Harry and Hermione had been treated like family long before the Potter/Weasley wedding (or Ron and Hermione had moved in together). But this was a family-only night, and still Luna was accepted without question…

Harry nudged Ginny a few times and she rolled her eyes. "Fine." She cleared her throat, but Bill and Percy kept up their conversation. Arthur kept singing to baby Molly, and Ron's mum kept tittering over Angelina's story about her Healer's advice.

Ginny cleared her throat again. No one quieted down.

"Oi, shut it. Ginny wants to say something," Ron yelled over the din, ready to get this over with. One by one his family members quieted down.

"Thanks, Ron." He couldn't tell if she was sarcastic or not. Ginny continued, "uh, Harry and I have an announcement…" She fell silent, her face red. Ron hadn't seen her this flustered since her first year at Hogwarts.

However, the grin on Harry's face could have lit up the entire Burrow. Fleur was the first to notice his face, and she began clapping her hands excitedly. Ron's mum caught on next, and tears shown in the corner of her eyes.

"I knew it!" Ron's mum cried, rushing over to embrace both of them, oblivious to the confused glances of the men in the room. The witches caught on quickly, falling into the excited clucking that so often permeated family gatherings.

George leaned over to Ron in confusion. "Knew what? "

"I'm pregnant, you arse," Ginny called from across the room. "Try to keep up."

The men in the room looked at one another as the news sank in. Everyone was talking at once. Victoire had all kinds of questions, and crawled into Harry's lap to ask them. This, of course, disrupted Molly's interrogation of the couple.

"Well, this explains her cheerful disposition," George said to Ron, joining him and Luna on the sofa. Angelina followed him over, relieved that the attention was off of her for once.

Angelina narrowed her eyes at Ron and Luna, who also had not joined the crowd around Harry and Ginny. "You knew already?"

"Yeah, Luna figured it out awhile back."

George clapped him on the back. "Glad that one is sticking around then, she's the sanest of everyone." This earned him a smack to the back of his head from his wife. "Won't be long before the two of you are adding to this little brood. Three in one year…crazy, huh?"

"Why didn't you tell us?!" Angelina yelled at Ron. "We saw each other every day!"

Ron could swear he heard Charlie mutter something about "too many hormones in one room."

"I promised Ginny, okay? She owes me big time. Blame her, not me." He hadn't been aware that the rest of the family was listening in. In the silence that followed, Ron watched Ginny's face fall. He knew it had been hard on her, but it was her own fault, keeping it a secret for so long.

Ron's mum's voice became harsher. "You did! You knew!" She looked to Ginny. "When are you due? November? October? How long have my children been keeping this a secret?"

Fleur gave Ginny a sympathetic look. As if it strengthened her, Ginny shook her hair back and raised her chin, "August. We think the baby is due in August."

"August?!" Molly screeched, then caught herself. She'd been trying lately (at the urging of Bill, who urged her at the urging of Fleur) to be less intense with her children. She took a deep breath "I'm sorry, Ginny. August will be so exciting! So you're about three months along?"

Ginny nodded, eyes wide.

"Well," said Molly, dusting her hands off, "I'm sorry I've missed out on your first trimester, but I'm sure we can get started on planning now! I've got some great spells to expand your clothes, and I'm sure we've got your old cot upstairs. Bill and Percy didn't need it, and Angelina's dad is building one for them."

"Mu-um, can we do this later?" Ginny pleaded.

Arthur put an arm around Molly as she said, "of course, sweetie. Just let me know what you need."

The family spent the dwindling hours of Charlie's visit chatting. Ginny relaxed as the attention shifted from her. She seemed less anxious and irritable now that things were in the open. Harry, of course, was probably the happiest wizard in all of England. Bill had taken him to the kitchen, and was giving him all kinds of advice on fatherhood. Ron and George spent most of the remaining time with Charlie.

After Charlie left to grab his portkey and Ron's remaining siblings floo-ed or apparated home. As he said his goodbyes to Luna, he tried not to think about the offhand comments of his brothers, let alone the way Luna seemed to blend seamlessly into his family.

Once he came back in, he found his mum puttering around the kitchen, making tea. She motioned for him to sit down, but they were interrupted by a pecking at the window. To his surprise, Futterwacken was waiting on the window ledge, a parchment attached to his leg.

 _Ron,_

 _Thank you for keeping things to yourself the past few weeks. I told you I owe you one, so here's an interesting piece of information:_

 _Luna's birthday is tomorrow. Good luck with that!_

 _Your favourite sister,_

 _Ginny_

Ron heard the words come from his mouth before he really thought about them. But once they sank in, they seemed to make perfect sense. Yes, it was too late to follow through by tomorrow, but it was something that seemed to fit.

"Hey mum? Do you think you could teach me how to cook?"

* * *

 **A/N I've been looking through the bits and pieces I've written for this story (since they're kind of disjointed), and I've pulled out a bit of it out into a separate story. This one is about Ron and Luna's kids going off to Hogwarts! You can find it through my profile at "Of Ravenclaws and Gryffindors"**


	15. Of Nargles and Birthdays

**February 12th and 13th, 2003**

Before he went to bed that night, Ron sent Pig out to George with a note:

 _Wanker (and Angelina and Sprog),_

 _I won't be in tomorrow. I will, however, be back on Friday to interview more help and deal with the Valentine's rush. Hopefully this is OK, since I'll be covering you after the baby is born. If it's not OK, please kindly roll this note up and insert it rectally. Or Floo me and I'll make it in. Whatever works for you._

 _Your favorite brother_

His mind raced most of the night, but he kept coming up blank. It was Luna's birthday, and she hadn't said a word. The problem with Luna was that he couldn't tell if it was a test (like any normal girl), if she didn't care that it was her birthday, or if she'd simply forgotten. His galleons were on the last one.

The cooking thing was a brilliant idea, of course. But there was nothing he could do about it _now_. He had vague plans for Valentines Day already (dinner out? A trip to Hogsmeade? Developing a sanity testing potion for both of them?), but if he used those for Luna's birthday, what would he do Friday?

 _Bloody hell, of course you had to find a girlfriend whose birthday was the day before Valentines._

It wasn't that he was afraid Luna would be angry. She didn't seem like the type. But he had this odd urge to do something special for her. The question was _what_. He couldn't even think of a gift, let alone somewhere to take her or something fun to do.

Around 7:00 the next morning, he floo-ed over to Harry and Ginny's. Harry sat blearily at the table, nursing a cup of coffee.

"Morning, Ron," he said as Ron shook off the ash.

"Where's your wife?"

"Probably sleeping. Particular reason you're barging over here so early? I didn't think you woke before 9 anymore."

Ron grabbed a pasty off the table. "Did you know about this?"

Harry smiled cheeky grin, half into his coffee cup. "Luna's birthday? Found out on Sunday when Ginny told me. Bit of bad luck, that. You're lucky she owled you last night. She wanted to wait until today around noon."

"Ha. Ha. Jokes on her. Now she's gotta help me figure out what to get Luna."

Harry looked at him, thinking. "Before all that, I want to run something by you."

"Like what?"

"I did something…"

"With your life? Finally, Potter. We've all been sitting around wondering, 'when is Harry going to _finally_ do something with his life?!'"

Harry snorted and continued, "the training job came up again. Since they made Hestia head of the department, no one really fit there. Johnson wants back in the field. So I applied to train all the new aurors."

"You'd be good in that spot."

"And they called me in for an interview today."

Ron grinned at him. "Good for you. You were good in the DA…you'll be good at this, too."

"Yeah, well, I haven't told Ginny."

"So?"

Harry looked at him like he'd grown an Erumpet horn. "You've met her lately. I'm pretty sure I should have asked her before I poured this cup of coffee, let alone applied for a whole new job!"

Ron shuddered at the thought of Ginny's current emotional state. "You just have to present it right. She's bound to be happy; you'll only be in the field a few days a month. It's much _safer_ and your hours will be better…"

"Yeah, yeah. But I should probably tell her before the interview, right?"

"Or lose your balls. Either way, I need to talk to her in the next…oh…15 minutes."

"She's sleeping," Harry said.

"Not anymore!" Ron called, halfway up the stairs already.

He opened the door (maybe a bit too quickly) and a disheveled Ginny scrambled for her wand. Ron ducked a Bat Bogey hex.

"Merlin's hairy nutsack, Ginny. On edge a bit?"

She sat cross-legged, blinking as she woke. "You burst into my bedroom! What were you thinking?"

"YOU decided to owl me _last night_ that today was my girlfriend's birthday. When I said you owed me one, I didn't mean a heart attack!"

She stowed the wand back on her nightstand and laid back down, burrowing under the duvet. "Too early for this. Come back later."

"Please?" Ron wasn't above groveling this morning. "I just need one more favor, then we're even."

Ginny plopped the pillow over her head. The words "don't care, making a pancreas or something. Too tired," came from beneath it.

"I just need an idea of what to get her," Ron whined. Ugh, he hated whining, but this situation was definitely whine-worthy. "Then I'll be out of your room and your house and your life, and you can go back to whatever it is you do now."

"I sleep. And eat bread. And make a person. Enough for you?" The pillow was still on her face.

"As soon as you tell me what to get Luna…"

She flung the pillow off her face and rolled off the bed. Her hair stuck in all directions. Ginny rummaged in the closet for a bit, then tossed a bag in Ron's direction. "Enjoy," she said with a scowl, "somewhere other than my bedroom."

Ron peered into the bag. "Seeds?" He was going to show up on his girlfriend's birthday with a sack of squirrel food?

From under the duvet, Ginny murmered, "yeah, she gave Neville a whole list of what she wanted for her garden…he gave the bag to Harry to give to you. You owe him 10 Galleons." Ron sorted through the back for a moment. He didn't even recognize half of what was in there. Ginny's snores soon filled the room.

Ron held up the bag for Harry as he walked back through Grimmauld's kitchen. "Thanks for this...good luck with your balls."

"Yeah, yeah," Harry said, looking marginally more awake. "Good, you got the present."

Ron rummaged in his pouch for some money to pass on to Neville, feeling a bit disgruntled. "Fair warning would have been nice."

"Sorry, mate. You don't have to live with her. It's like a completely different person. Bill says they go back to normal a few months after the baby comes…can't imagine dealing with _that_ in Veela form."

Ron couldn't imagine Luna becoming a shrieking Harpy just because of a few hormones, not like Ginny. And Angelina hadn't been as bad as Ginny either. So it wasn't _all_ witches. Luna would probably be all one-with-nature and want to give birth in the lake with the giant squid or something.

He had to stop and shake off the thought of his girlfriend _pregnant_. Not happening.

Ron pulled himself out of his thoughts and looked back to Harry. "Yeah, sucks to be Bill. So I'm just gonna…" he gestured at the sack of seeds ( _seeds? If it's what she wanted…)._ "Uh, and figure out what else to do with her."

"You could always ask her what she wants to do." Harry paused and grinned into his coffee. "And you'll end up in Japan hunting for a Grimblybump or whatever. Have fun!"

Ron just shook his head and threw the floo powder. When he landed in Luna's living room, it was quiet. _Good, I can surprise her_ , he thought, heading for the stairs.

But when he got there, her room was empty. The bed was made. And Luna was nowhere to be found.

"Luna?!" He called into the empty house. Nothing but silence answered.

Before he could panic, Ron pulled out his wand and conjured his patronus. "Luna! I came to see you, but you're not home. Where are you?" And sent it away.

Within moments the hare bounded back into the room. "Just visiting with Fleur up at Shell Cottage. Stay there, we'll come to say hi!"

He made himself comfortable on the couch, and conjured up a bouquet of flowers. After rummaging under the sink for a vase, he settled on a drinking glass in the shape of a mermaid and arranged it on the table with the flowers and the sack of seeds.

Just as he checked his watch again, wondering where she was, the floo lit up green.

Instead of Luna, however, Victoire tumbled out of the hearth and into his arms. "Oncle Ron! Oncle Ron! Tante Luna was showing me all about nargles!" She handed him a drawing of what was, apparently, a nargle, and Ron once again wondered at his own sanity. Hermione often mentioned muggle doctors who specialized in healing the mind…perhaps dating a lunatic was a sign that something was wrong with _him_.

Fleur stepped elegantly out of the floo next, in spite of her growing stomach. "I am so sorry, Ronald. We taught 'er to use zee floo just in case. When she heard you were at Luna's, she jumped in before we could catch 'er." Fleur's face became stern. "Cherie, you must 'ave someone with you unless it eez an emergency." She had a basket slung over her arm, and she took it toward the kitchen.

Victoir looked at her mother defiantly, then back at Ron. "We saw your dog. It sounded worried." Victoire's eyes were wide. "Is your dog okay?"

Ron simply smiled and thought of cold evenings snuggled with Luna before the fire. His Patronus shot from his wand and began snuffling around Victoire's legs. She shrieked and giggled before chasing it into the kitchen.

The floo lit up a third time, and Luna breezed itno the room, carrying a heavy-looking crock and wearing a crown of half-dead seaweed. She looked at him quizzically. "You were looking for me?"

Ron fidgeted and tried to find the words to explain. "So Ginny owled me last night with some interesting info…" Fleur had stepped back into the living room, and was watching with interest, like Hermione's muggle aunt when her favorite TV programme came on. He didn't want any audience for this, _but here goes nothing_. "She said today's your birthday. So…happy birthday!"

Luna's face lit up. "Oh! That was nice of her."

"Yeah…nice…Ginny." Ron could swear that Fleur coughed back a giggle. "Anyway, I wanted to do something for you for your birthday."

"Like what?"

Ron paused in a panic. "I hadn't gotten that far yet." He rustled around his brain for an idea. Any idea. He came up short. But he had the seeds! "I got you these." He thrust them toward her, cringing when he realized that he probably should have wrapped them or gotten a card or _something_.

Luna opened the sack with a smile, "seeds!" She threw her arms around him.

With that, Fleur choked back another laugh and glided out of the room, presumably to track down Victoire.

Luna squealed as she looked through the sack. "Oh, Rosethorn! Chomping Cabbage! Tentacula! Thank you, Ron!"

Ron tried not to think of how many of those things could injure him. "You should probably thank Neville and Ginny. They orchestrated the whole thing. I suppose that's as good as an endorsement from my sister."

Luna wrapped her arms around him and kissed him thouroughly. The couple didn't hear Fleur come in the room until she coughed sharply.

"Maybe eet would be good for us to take thees, non?" she said, taking the crock from Luna's arm and with a significant look toward Victoire. "Zen we shall be on our way."

Ron, feeling very much as if he'd been caught snogging by a professor, ducked his head. He could feel his ears getting red. "Sorry, Fleur."

Luna didn't seem bothered, simply began to hum as she followed Fleur and Victoire into the kitchen, putting the seeds into a cupboard. Ron followed, feeling like a puppy dog.

Fleur finished bustling about the kitchen quickly, as Victoire asked Luna dozens of questions about Nargles, ("why is their snout so long? Could they be friends with a mouse? Where do they go when it snows?") which Luna patiently answered. Victoire was still asking questions as Fleur ushered her into the floo. Fleur wished Luna a "bon anniversaire" and glided her way into the floo as well. The room was finally silent.

"What were you doing over here, anyway?" Ron asked. He didn't think Luna and Fleur were particularly close.

"I'm painting a mural for the baby's room and helping with Vic. In exchange Fleur's letting me practice my French and sending me home with food." She settled them onto the couch, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I like it there. It reminds me of safety."

Ron felt a flood of realization. "You spent your 17th birthday…"

"In the dungeons." Luna finished.

Ron put his arm around her tightly. "You should have told me. About your birthday and…"

"Sometimes it's hard to be surrounded by so many Gryffindors. I don't always know how to say when I'm scared or why it's hard to talk about my birthday. Some years I don't even celebrate."

"I can't be that brave, remember? I sleep at Harry's when my mum and dad are gone."

She hummed in acknowledgement and looked at the clock. "Don't you need to get to work? Those love potions aren't going to sell themselves."

"Those? Those are a bunch of bollucks. And anyway, I took the rest of the day off. What would you like to do?"

"Well then," said Luna, looking a bit surprised, "I do have plans, you know. I told Mr. Ollivander that we could have lunch together, but I suppose you could come with. And I have a floo-call with daddy tonight…"

"So we have a few more hours this morning, then all afternoon." Ron wasn't quite thrilled about eating lunch with the slightly-creepy wandmaker, but he'd do it for Luna.

"You'll come with?" She sounded surprised.

"Of course, it's your birthday." Then he grinned down at her. "On my birthday we'll go watch 10 hours of Quidditch."

* * *

 **Hey, look! I'm alive! :)**


	16. A Prophet Interlude

The annoying thing about late February, to Ron, wasn't just that it signaled the hardest stretch of time in his year. March to June was pretty much a nonstop series of annoyingly emotional events: his birthday, March 15th, April 1st (the twins' birthday, which almost inevitably led to _someone_ in the Weasley clan at St. Mungo's), May 2nd…at some point in mid-May, Ron would be able to breathe again.

But it was much easier to direct his late-February ire at the easiest target. The press. After the war, there were points where the Prophet hounded Harry (and by extension, Ron and Hermione) incessantly. The fact that Harry chose to go to the Quibbler with his post-war tell-all seemed to make the prophet more aggressive, assigning photographers and writers specifically to Harry. At one point, Rita Skeeter was caught trying to break into auror training. And since Harry insisted on the three of them were a unit, that meant that Ron and Hermione were also pursued incessantly after the war.

Ron did not appreciate this.

During that first year, after a particularly annoying visit to Hogsmeade, Ron may or may not have turned Rita Skeeter's quill into a canary. Hermione may or may not have been impressed, and Ginny may or may not have snuck up behind Rita and turned her bogies into bats. Harry may or may not have stupefied the photographer who was trying to capture the whole thing. Luna had definitely wandered by and offered the photographer a job at the Quibbler. He declined.

During the ensuing trial (covered, of course, by the Quibbler; Luna had even been excused from school to sit in the courtroom), an agreement was reached: the press would leave the three (four, if you counted Ginny, which Rita Skeeter did not) alone, and Ron and his friends promised not to use any hex, curse, or malicious transfiguration. They also agreed that, 3 times a year, they would allow themselves to be interviewed and photographed by the Prophet.

To annoy the Prophet as much as possible, the trio frequently invited the Quibbler to join in the interview.

And, in Late February, June and October, the Prophet would Owl Harry and set up a "photo op" and interview. And Harry would Owl Hermione and Ron, and drag Ginny with, and the four would somewhat cooperatively participate. This particular year, the Prophet had been annoying Harry (and, well, everyone), so the friends set up their meeting at the Hogshead. And called the Quibbler to join in.

There were few things about this meeting that Ron enjoyed, but watching Rita Skeeter wade amongst the dingy tables made the day a bit easier. The way she wrinkled her nose at the smell of goats helped a bit, too. Aberforth winked from across the bar as a large group of questionable-looking wizards loudly clamored through the door shortly after Skeeter arrived.

"Well, then, Potter, let's get this over with quickly," Rita began, sitting gingerly at the table. "We couldn't possibly spare a photographer today, but I've got my own camera, and I'd love to get some shots of you and your friends greeting some of your admirers!"

The streets were grey, slushy, and very, very empty. The grumbling and somewhat drunk witches and wizards in the tavern were not exactly photo-op ready.

"Let's not leave my wife out of it this time," Harry added. Hermione held her wand atop the table, fingering it, while making somewhat aggressive eye contact with the reporter. Ginny smiled.

Rita continued, "yes, well, as I always say, happy marriages don't sell papers!" Ginny's smile became more forced. Rita leaned in, more, looking only at Harry. "You are happy…right?" Her tone suggested that she wanted him to say no.

Hermione broke in. "As per our previous Owl, the interview won't begin until the Quibbler is represented as well."

Ms. Skeeter harrumphed and jotted a few words in her notebook. Ron peeked to be sure it wasn't one of those Quick Quotes Quills. He spotted the words "hag-like" and "in need of a conditioning rinse." Hermione kept fidgeting with her wand, and she and Ginny glared at Rita. The meeting was going in a delightful direction.

The tension seemed to melt away (for Ron, at least) when Luna breezed through the door. She ran first to Aberforth, and greeted him with a hug, inquiring about his goats. His blue eyes lit up in a way Ron hadn't seen before. Rita stared in something resembling confusion, admiration, and probably horror.

Luna perched herself beside Rita at the table and pulled out her own notebook and quills. Her hair was styled in the same slicked-back manner of Rita's, and she wore a pair of false hornrimmed glasses. Even her skirt was the same style as Rita's. If Ron hadn't known her so well, he would have missed the subtle imitation. Rita's face suggested that she did not miss it.

"Good afternoon, Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley, and Mr. and Mrs. Potter," Luna began. Usually Nancy, Luna's editor, handled these meetings, but Luna insisted that she wanted to take a more active role in these interviews. Luna had also insisted that she'd be 100% professional. The last thing any of them needed was a Quick-Quotes-inspired article about Ron and Luna.

"Good afternoon, Miss Lovegood," the friends chorused.

"So to start," Rita budged in, "I previously understood that Luna was a great friend to Mr. Potter and his comrades. So why the icy greeting? Are there differences of opinion over the Quibbler's content? Or perhaps a political disagreement? Or possibly," her eyes sparkled black, "has Miss Lovegood found herself _too_ good a friend of The Chosen One? Caused a rift in the marriage?"

Ginny's face became serious. "Yes. Of course. My husband cheated on me with my best friend. That's why we invited her to conduct an interview."

Rita's eyes widened with excitement. "Oh, do tell more! How has this affected your marriage? Are divorce papers in our future? Will Mr. Potter once again become the Wizarding World's most eligible bachelor?"

"You really are one of the dullest people I've had the unfortunate opportunity to meet," muttered Hermione.

"I'm sorry?" asked Rita.

"They're having you on, dear," said Luna, sugary sweet. "I'm not sleeping with Harry. Ginny was making a joke. It wasn't very funny, but perhaps it made her feel better about constantly answering questions about her marriage."

Rita looked as if she'd bitten into a lemon. "So all is well in the Potter marriage?" Harry and Ginny nodded. Rita began scribbling in her notebook, paging through pre-prepared questions and sighing dramatically every few moments. Luna doodled in her notepad, sketching pictures of kneazles and werewolves.

"Oh!" said Rita, flipping the pages. "Since we don't have Harry as an eligible bachelor then, of course, we must turn elsewhere." Ron closed his eyes in annoyance, waiting for her to question him. Instead, she continued, "Harry, who do you believe is the most desireable bachelor in Magical Britain? Neville Longbottom? Theodore Nott, heir of the Nott fortune? Oliver Wood?"

The prepared answer left Ron's lips before he really heard the question. "I'm choosing to keep my private life to—" then it registered. "Oliver Wood?"

"Well, yes. He's by far the most attractive Quidditch player around…oh, dear…" Rita looked over the top of her glasses in mock-concern. "I supposed you felt _you_ were in the running. Sorry, dear, red hair is far out of fashion in recent years." She glanced at Ginny out of the side of her eye and flinched a bit. "For men, of course, that is. Now, if this were your brother William we were discussing…"

"If the Quibbler chooses to stoop to simple gossip tactics, Ronald will be on our list," interrupted Luna, as she gazed up at the ceiling. "And Neville."

Rita's lip curled a bit in disgust. "Of course he would. But this is a perfect moment to discuss the relationship between Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger. Have the two of you rekindled old flames and relationships?"

"Unconfirmed rumors of old flames and relationships," Hermione supplied.

"Not rekindled rumors," added Ron, resisting the urge to pout. How could those three be above him?

"So then, if the romance between the Chosen One's best friends is theoretical and unrekindled, what shall I say about their love lives? Any big news from either of you? Wedding bells in the future? It's my understanding that Miss Granger has been seen frequently in the company of Auror Finnegan-"

Hermione snorted.

"-And Mr. Weasley is often seen conversing in his shop with a rotund dark-skinned witch…Angela? I believe?"

"That's my brother's wife, Angelina Weasley. She co-owns the store."

"And she's six months pregnant, not _rotund,_ " added Ginny.

"So the rumor that you're seeing her secretly, and may be the father of her child is…?"

"Utter bollucks," replied Ron, with an eye roll. This was the worst interview yet.

Rita, unperturbed, wrote 'unconfirmed but likely' in her notebook and turned to Hermione. "And you and Mr. Finnegan are?"

"People who eat lunch together, with Harry present."

She jotted the words, 'possible love triangle?" on the parchment. As she paged through the rest of the book, Luna surreptitiously waved her wand and changed the words to nonsense. Ron gave her a grateful glance. Rita didn't notice.

"Since the three of you insist on being so uncooperative, I must ask, what _do_ you want me to write about?"

"How about an article on my work on werewolf rights, and how equal rights could grow the economy for all of Magical Britain?" asked Hermione.

Harry added, "or the need for a better training program before future aurors graduate Hogwarts? I will be the new Director of auror Training in April, and our recruits are woefully underprepared."

"Weasley's is offering a new line of curse-detecting tools and self-defense manuals. They're more suited to everyday witches and wizards who live alone, rather than the war-based items we previously offered," said Ron, reciting Angelina's marketing scheme. He mentally patted himself on the back for following directions.

Ginny glared at Rita as she said, "you should write on the Muggleborn equality project. All four of us are on the advisory board, and it's meant to educate young witches and wizards on the Muggle world. The Harpies are joining a publicity campaign meant to bridge the gaps that many people see during their first year at Hogwarts."

Luna wrote furiously in her notebook.

"Well then," said Rita with a huff, "if none of you have anything interesting or meaningful to add, and nothing that my readers would be interested in, Miss Lovegood and I will be on our way. Please follow me to the street so I can snap a few pictures of you greeting your fans. Mrs. Potter can stay here."

She rose from the table and strode out of the pub, the door slamming behind her. As the dust settled, the five friends remained at the table, looking amongst themselves. Around 30 seconds later (Luna had been humming a nursery rhyme under her breath and occasionally counting), the door swung open again.

"Are you—" but Rita was cut off as the rowdy group of Aberforth's friends began a drinking song, splashing her with their drinks.

She came closer and had to yell to be heard, "I HAVE MY CAMERA, IT'S TOO DARK IN HERE, JUST A FEW PICTURES—" The crowd seemed to box her in more.

Harry shook his head as if he couldn't hear her, shrugged, pointing to the door. Luna began swaying and humming along to the drinking song. With a huff, Rita left, slamming the door behind her again.

The crowd quieted down quickly after that, and began filing out one by one. The pub was soon empty, and Ron and his friends sipped their (somewhat questionable) drinks in relative peace. "Could have been worse," Harry mentioned.

Ron added, "no one hexed her this time, so we won't be back in court. I reckon that's a plus."

"So, Luna," said Ginny, "what's the Quibbler going to report?"

"The Kneazle situation has hit a dead end, so until I go to Ireland to investigate in person, we're relying on Daddy's information about Banshees in Portugal."

"And about Harry?"

"Oh, nothing, really. I just came to annoy Rita Skeeter. She called Daddy a nutjob last month, and the Prophet poached one of our reporters. Unless you want us to report on the auror training. That sounds interesting. It might actually be due to nargles at Hogwarts, stealing people's motivation to succeed."

Hermione broke in, "actually, if you really want to annoy her, you have several scoops that she'd love to have…Ginny's pregnancy…you and Ron…Neville's wedding…"

"Those aren't my stories to tell. And I can't write about myself. 'Pride goeth before a pack of rabid centaurs', as the saying goes."

"If it will annoy Skeeter, it's fine with me," said Ginny. "It's going to be obvious soon, anyway. I'd rather you wrote about the baby than _her_."

Luna brightened up at that. "Really? I'd love to write about the Potter baby! What if we wait for Rita to publish her superficial story, then follow up with your announcement a few days later? That would give us time to talk about the details!"

Ron thought for a moment. "If you really want to annoy her, maybe Nancy can write about you and I? I mean, the Prophet'll figure it out soon enough. You'll be at the May celebrations, and Neville's wedding." Ron shuddered thinking of how the Prophet would approach that bit of news.

Luna thought for a minute. "What about Ginny?"

"Ginny?" asked Harry.

"She could write about Ron and I. We could use another reporter, and she needs something to occupy her mind, anyway."

Everyone looked at Ginny. She shrugged. "I guess so? Can I also write about Neville and Hannah's wedding?"

"Perfect! Hermione, would you like us to write anything about you?"

A smile played at the corner of Hermione's mouth. "Thanks for offering, Luna. Unless you'd like to cover werewolf rights, I'd prefer not to."

"I'll consider it. It seems like a worthy cause."

Ginny broke in, "I'll do it. I think it would be good to spread the word about your project, and I really don't have very much to do without training…I'm going stir crazy."

The girls put their heads together, brainstorming different stories that Ginny could cover. Finishing his pint, Ron looked at Harry, who was staring off into space.

"We still hanging at Grimmauld on the 15th?"

Harry nodded back. It wasn't Ron's favorite thing to plan, but it was tradition. After whatever disaster their February Prophet interview brought, they'd reconfirm their plans for March.

"I'll bring the Firewhiskey and we'll make Hermione bring the Muggle stuff. You wanna get Kreacher over there?"

"Part of me thinks he enjoys the break from Hogwarts, so I think he'll agree."

"Or he likes seeing us drunk." Ron thought about what else they might need. "I bet you 2 galleons Hermione throws a fit this year. We're 2 for 3. She might be mellowing out about the house elves."

Hermione must have heard her name over the din. "I might be what?"

"Calming down about the Kreacher situation on the 15th?" Ron asked hopefully.

With a sigh, Hermione said, "whatever works. It's just one day, and he seems to enjoy it. And it's much easier than all of us arguing in the kitchen, half hungover. But we will pay him somehow. If he won't accept money, surely he'll accept some of those Black family heirlooms Harry found, or a new pillowcase."

"Whatever makes you happy, as long as you bring the Muggle stuff you brought last year," replied Ron.

"Wait, am I going to be the only sober one? This isn't fair! Pregnancy sucks enough…I don't want to have to sit around sober and watch you three get pissed." Ginny appeared to be falling into one of her 'moods,' and Ron barely kept himself from rolling his eyes. This was going to complicate matters.

"Go stay with mum then. Kreacher'll keep us alive."

Hermione reminded him, "that's not Kreacher's job, Ron!"

"Fine, then you'll keep us alive with the nagging." He knew once it left his mouth that he'd gone too far. Hermione's eyebrows narrowed and Ginny's shot up. Ron braced himself for the coming lecture/further nagging from both. They'd start with the house-elves (well, Hermione would), but knowing them it would probably extend to Ron's drinking, possibly his life choices, and they would definitely mention that time he ended up in a field by Hogsmeade. They'd probably end with a general lecture about his treatment of women, and with any luck, Luna would join in—

"I can come keep Ginny company if she'd like…" Luna said, as if she hadn't heard half the conversation.

There was a pause, as if Ginny and Hermione were contemplating whether to begin lecturing him, or follow Luna's train of thought.

"She was there…back…at Malfoy manner…" muttered Harry, trying to push them in Luna's direction.

Hermione took a deep breath and turned to Luna. "Well then…she was, actually. Yes, Luna, you're welcome to join us on the 15th."


End file.
